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| Monday, 01 April 2002 |
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Questionable food hygiene standards at food courts It is highly commendable that the Municipal Health Officials conducted surprise raids on food stalls at Galle Face Green. However I wish to bring to the notice of the Municipal Health Office that it is not only the food outlets and gram sellers at Galle Face Green that should be subjected to spot checks but also the food court at a park near Union Place and other fast food restaurants. During a recent visit to the food court at this park I noticed that several of the food courts had displayed dishes to tantalise prospective customers. One such court which was selling hotdogs amongst oriental cuisine, attracted my attention. As I approached the counter I got a rancid smell. The rancid smell was emanating from the cooked food dishes, which was on public display. I pointed this to the manager that their displays smelt and it was not a good advertisement for their food. The manager argued with me that it was not spoilt but my friends and I maintained that the food was spoilt as it was emanating smells associated with spoilt food. The manager said that they cook the display foods once in two days. He refused to accept that the food was spoilt. It is elementary knowledge that cooked food containing meat, which is kept out in the open, under bright lights and in the heat will get spoilt in hours let alone days. We did tell the manager that his displayed cuisine far from tantalising and titillating our taste buds was having an adverse effect on our senses and the last thing we wanted to do was to eat at the food court there. My contention is that if these vendors charge money for food they are obliged to provide decent clean food. When customers buy food they expect clean quality food. They do not require additional items such as bacteria, E coli and salmonella poisoning, which could cause food poisoning and even death in severe cases. As part of its operations perhaps the Municipal Health Office could conduct a basic hygiene course and grant licences only to people who have actually passed the course. In this manner they will understand their responsibilities towards customers, the main one being that they should provide quality food without compromising on hygiene. This will limit the spread of diseases. So come on Municipal Health Office why not implement such a program which will benefit both the consumer and the vendor. TINA EDWARD GUNAWARDHANA I refer to RCS Lenora's letter (DN Mar. 16). It should be noted he has no experience in train travel. I have been a zealous Intercity traveller until the Rambukkana tragedy. That morning a close friend who normally travels by car entered the killer train to get to Colombo. To our dismay he returned home in a hearse even before we heard of the disaster. His injured sister had been taken to a hospital by kindly onlookers. Imagine the shock suffered by the family. That is only one instance. Damage was 15 dead, over 150 injured. Coolly Intercity resumed its runs after a quick repair to damaged track. No apology. No reassurance. To CGR we commuters are mere human cargo. No Intercity for me until I hear it is now made safe. Intercity is a super idea of the CGR. Its non-stop, uncrowded run is in itself a luxury. But high speed travel is not its forte. Breakneck speeds after Rambukkana are often nerve-wrecking. This has been felt over a long time. Even tourists have complained in this column about its galloping ride. As for the cause of that accident we will not come to conclusions. Let it be the task of the Commission. There is humour at times in their findings. Eg. an investigator abroad summed up the cause of an air accident as follows: "Suddenly pilot ran short of experience". Enough has been written on this vexed subject. As Miran Perera observed in this column safety is more important than speed. so until we could ensure safety fast, let us opt for safety first. KIRTHI ABEYWICKREMA-Kandy. According to J. Krishnamurthy, an Indian philosopher, it is possible to have direct contact with anything in life only when we are without any preconception and image. All our relationships are really imaginary that is based on an image formed by thought. If I have an image about you and you have an image about me, naturally we don't see each other at all as we actually are. What we really see is the image we have formed about each other which prevent us from being in contact, and that is why our relationships go wrong. Two people who have lived together for a long time have an image of each other which prevents them from really being in relationship. Only when we understand the true relationship between each other there is a possibility of peace and love. Therefore it is much important to understand each other actually, not intellectually to reach a settlement in a conflicting situation. It is a great expectation of the people of Sri Lanka since the election of the new government to office that the long-desired peace to the fractured island would soon be brought about. The bold steps taken by the Prime Minister, displaying his bona fides with the view of securing a lasting peace to the Island are highly appreciable and commendable. The ceasefire agreement the Government entered into with LTTE should be meaningful and fruitful. This is only possible by the parties involved in peace process behaving without mutual cheating, mutual gratification and mutual exploitation of each other. They should maintain great restraint, responsibility and reciprocation respecting each others views. They should talk the issues vis-a-vis in close consultation and cooperation with open heart to surpass the impasses that erupt and obstruct the road to peace. At the same time it is the duty on every political party of Sri Lanka to behave in a manner to promote the parties involved in the peace process, while safeguarding the sovereignty, integrity and unity of Sri Lanka, to reach a negotiated political settlement acceptable to all communities. At the same time they should not instigate people to spread sedition aiming at achieving their political and personal gains. It should be ensured that when the peace talks start the political leaders of all communities especially the representative of the Muslim community who have undergone untold hardships and sufferings as a result of the conflict and have been left destitute and living in refugees camps, and the representative of Sinhalese should be allowed and accommodated in the process of negotiation to ventilate their grievances and put forward their reasonable demands in order to find a stable solution acceptable to all of them. By this kind of modus vivendi, we can only achieve real peace in this Island. Dr. U. L. Sarafdeen-Kalmunai
In this age when social and human values are diminishing from our society so rapidly into a quagmire, an incident that took place is worthy of mention in your journal, for there is yet a glimmer of hope in this turbulent isle. On February 22 at noon, I called at the Legal Department of the State Mortgage Bank at Kollupitiya to collect a document. I was told by a Legal Assistant to hold on for a few minutes. I mentioned to the young lass that I was diabetic and sweating profusely and that I was feeling giddy. She very kindly requested me to sit by the door and relax. A moment later she offered me a packet of biscuits suitable for diabetics, I took two and was told to help myself to more. A smartly dressed office aid offered me a bottle of soda. These are gestures that are not common in Government Departments but can only be seen at Sea Street offering cold drinks to their customers. I hope that this would catch the attention of other departmental heads. M. WIJERATNE-Pannipitiya.
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