Letters
View(s):All’s fine with beautifying Colombo, but spare the trees
There is much paving taking place around the city of Colombo. No doubt when it is all completed, Colombo will look squeaky clean and tidy.
Unfortunately, the paving will add more heat to the city atmosphere. They will act as heat soaks. Ever wondered why Dubai is hot even at midnight? Simple, it is only the result of the heat soak radiating heat absorbed into the paved areas during the day, back into the atmosphere at night.
Sri Lanka is a tropical country, we need pavements, but they should be shaded to prevent the creation of heat soaks. Trees should be planted along the pavement, even in the middle of them, as humans could easily walk round them. Certainly more people will use the pavements, not only those using them for exercise, as they would be more pleasant to walk on even during the day.
Someone does not like trees along the roads and every attempt is made to cut them and create a desert. Firstly, by massacring the branches that hang over the road, even if they are in a good and healthy condition and of no threat to man or beast, thus encouraging trees to lose their natural balance and fall and secondly by ensuring that the roots of the trees do not get any nutrients by way of water, by covering up the root system in concrete or tar to ensure that the trees will eventually die.
The paving is being done by people who do not know the difference between a tree and a lamp post. They concrete right up to the tree and tamp the surrounding concrete hard to ensure that it is well consolidated at times. Even machines are used. They then lay the paving on a bed of quarry dust or sand, leaving a symbolic square at the level of the paving round the tree that is eventually filled with earth and finished with grass. It all looks pretty and good from outside.
Unfortunately, no moisture will ever reach the root system as it is now tightly packed in concrete or tar. When we took the trouble to enquire why it was done that way, the workers who have now become expert pavers even working intricate patterns into the pavements, thought it was the best and easiest to do and no one had told them anything different before. They looked at me in awe and rushed to keep their target.
One is reminded of a similar incident that took place some years ago on the Kadugannawa Pass. We stopped to enquire why the branches of the trees that had been planted only about a decade before were being massacred. Massacred, because those wielding the ‘Kaththa’ did not know how it had to be done. They were using the standard method of cutting the top of the branch and tearing off the rest, the branch, bark and all. The stock answer was that we are from the SLT and we were asked to cut, so we are cutting, and you don’t need to tell us what to do, we have our instructions.
One is not certain or sure who is advising whom, but one thing is certain, if you want to enjoy the trees of Colombo, no around the country, now is the time, as tomorrow will be too late.
Ashley de Vos
Colombo 2
Are monks playing casino politics?
Readers will sincerely thank you for the October 20, 2013 Sunday Times news item headlined ‘Religious leaders denounce moves to set up more casinos’.
The journalist had interviewed Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera and Ven. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera. Readers are sure to be confused when Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera says Ven. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera invited him to attend the alms giving (dana). But Ven. Bellanwila Wimarathana Thera denies this.
Whatever it is, both are Buddhist monks of repute. It is strange for Ven. Bellanwila Wimalathana Thera to say he did not know who invited him and his background, though he received the invitation about two weeks back. He had said, ‘When we were invited we did not try to find out the origin (Agak Mulak) of the person’. Is this acceptable? It is customary when a Buddhist monk is invited (Aradana) to a Bana preaching or alms giving he first speaks of the good qualities, achievements and meritorious acts (either true or not) of the family and at the end he delivers an ‘Anusasana’ bestowing merit. It is not known whether this was done at this particular alms giving at ‘Maharaja Palace’, a recently-opened fancy restaurant, invoking merits on the person who greeted them at the entrance – none other than the local partner of the Australian Casino mogul who expects to set up business here.
This reminds me of a remark made by Eksath Bhikkhu Jathika Peramuna General Secretary Ven. Thiniyawala Palith Thera. As reported in your sister paper Daily Mirror on October 1, he had said, “Some religious leaders were silenced today having been bought over by various inducements.” This alms giving by the ‘unknown person’ and participation of influential Buddhist monks may be a prelude to further offerings to support the business. Who knows?
Some Buddhist monks have created a halo around themselves to appear as saviours of Buddhism and but engage in other activities, making use of their popularity or influence, and neglecting their legitimate religious duties to the extent of refusing to tie a ‘Pirith Noola’ saying it is a nuisance and hinders other work, as experienced by me at a local temple of repute.
Let us all unite and rally round those honest, genuine Buddhist monks and leaders of other religions to protest with one voice against setting up of casinos and other enterprises which are harmful to religions, our culture and heritage. In the rush let not those who play a double game also get the credit
G.A.D.Sirimane
Boralasgamuwa
Repair this road too
It’s all well and good for roads to be repaired. But it’s a real crime to neglect some roads in the same vicinity, with utterly no concern for the residents, although frequently mentioned in the newspapers.
The road I refer to is a small stretch alongside Sri Chandraratne School at Ambagahapura.
Walking or travelling in a vehicle along this road is hazardous especially for aged people.
I beg those responsible to take immediate action, as we have all waited long enough.
Anandi Kulatillake
Maharagama
‘Butchers preaching vegetarianism’
The stories on pages 8, 10 and 12 in last week’s Sunday Times are classic cases of ‘Hakkey bodu bana, bokkey dada mas.’ Loosely translated it reads as butchers preaching vegetarianism.
I leave it to the readers to figure out whose mouth and whose stomach. O’tempora, O’ tempora
Nihal Ratnayake
Dehiwala
View barriers: The expressway deception
The Colombo-Katunayake Expressway will start operations for those who are willing to afford it, today. When the cost of
2. A section of the poor dwellings: When elections are around these are havens for politicians, once elections are over, they erect barriers
capital invested is concerned — exceeding Rs 1.5 billion per km — this project won’t be the viable alternative to resolve the economic burden incurred due to traffic congestion even for the next 5 to 10 year period. But it could be a desirable alternative by 20-30 years from now.
Let me cite a simple example. If I have money and am not worried of its cost I could have a McDonald’s restaurant opened in my village today. It won’t have sales, but it will be an economically justifiable option 50 or 100 years from now. Should this be the investment principles a country like Sri Lanka needs to follow?
1.“View barrier”: Blocking out ‘ungainly’ sights from the users of the super highway
The reason I decided to write this letter is to highlight a somewhat peculiar aspect of this project. This expressway, being an urban corridor, has been provided with noise barriers but, it seems apart from noise barriers a peculiar type of barriers are also coming up right in front where I live — the poor neighbourhood at Doowa in Wattala.
Picture one shows this peculiar barrier coming up in quick time. Curious, I inquired from an expressway worker. He said the purpose of the barrier is to block the users of the super highway viewing these poor dwellings. What a pathetic country is this? How much do they intend to spend on this “view barrier”? This huge investment to have this “view barrier” could have been utilised to uplift the status of economically deprived people of the nation. Picture 2 shows a section of poor dwellings, which authorities are now attempting to block from the highway users’ sight.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa certainly may not be aware of this work carried out by the officers down the line. I am sure if he knows what is really happening here he will immediately stop the work and initiate stern action against those responsible.
Please, Mr. President, have an enquiry as soon as possible. These initiatives are not there in the Mahinda Chinthana.
Goyan Dias
Via email
comments powered by Disqus