Sunday Times 2
Except the ‘Royals’ and ‘Nobles’ all Sri Lankans are second class citizens
Professionals, mainly doctors, lament that they are relegated to second class citizenry by the ‘Royals’ and ‘Nobles’ of Sri Lanka. The ‘Royals’ are described as the ruling family and ‘Nobles’ are the ignoble scum of the earth that leech on to the ‘Royals’ and call the tune in all matters concerning governance and day to day affairs.
All that was left of the vehicle of police constable Sumith Saman Kumarawansa who booked a politician for over-speeding (file pic)
Take the case of the roads. The main if not the only development in Sri Lanka that is of meaningful utility value to the citizens is the roads. But especially in Colombo where the main hospitals, schools, courts, public and private offices are located, the roads are much too often blocked and all normal traffic diverted to unknown byroads that create a maze, just to make “safe” way for the Royals or Nobles. Policemen at the diversion points only know to stop all normal traffic from proceeding on their intended way but are unable to tell the motorists the shortest or for that matter any alternate route to their destination. The policemen only tell motorists to proceed ahead on the diverted road and inquire. Sometimes the motorists keep going round and round and return to the same point to be stopped again. At times they are delayed for hours for distances that should normally take only ten to fifteen minutes. The brunt of the criticism, however, is on the traffic police who have to carry out the orders of the powers that be.
These delays have a chain reaction down to the poorest of the poor who have to face the results of these road blocks. Patients who are critically ill and who need urgent medical attention are held up on the roads monopolised by the ‘Royals’ and their large entourages travelling at excessive speeds throwing everyone else off the roads. Patients who have to undergo urine tests with full bladder or stay fasting for specific periods, end-up with inaccurate reports due to these delays. These tests are costly and often have to be repeated due to delays sending the reports haywire. There are times when the doctors too are held up on the roads.
So much for doctors and patients – many man-hours are lost in public and private work places due to delays caused by ad-hoc road blocks that are often unwarranted. Students, teachers, university lecturers, professors and office workers at various levels get held up. It is not only those held up on the roads whose work is held up. There is a chain reaction because hundreds of others are awaiting the arrival of those held up, for work that has to be done collectively. All this is happening while we boast of a super road network at massive costs to the public -and commissions to the ‘Royals’.
Even when the roads are not “reserved” for politicos, they assume special rights on the roads. The case of police constable Sumith Saman Kumarawansa who booked a politician for over-speeding is a case in point. Over-speeding is prohibited by law as it is hazardous to the passengers and other road users. When Saman issued a ticket to the Deputy Minister for over-speeding, what became of the duteous police officer is well known. He is now a mental wreck having barely saved his life.
Another case in point was a recent accident in Gampaha where a jeep belonging to a politico and driven at excessive speed by a drunken driver collided with a Piagio three wheeler in which a pregnant woman, her little daughter, her husband and mother were travelling. The little child was killed and fractures were caused to the pregnant mother and severe injuries were caused to the other passengers and the driver. The fact that the police connived to swap the drunken driver with another driver is common knowledge. But none would dare to talk. What would come of the accident inquiry is anybody’s guess.
Last week, as revealed in the Sunday Times, a parent who had stopped to drop his children at a Montessori school had been rudely ordered by the President’s security unit to take his vehicle away immediately as the President was due to pass that way. The parent who holds a senior position in the private sector explained that he had no alternative but to stop his vehicle to drop his children. The security unit had threatened to ram his car with a heavy vehicle if it was not removed immediately. The security unit had also entered the Montessori school armed with firearms for routine check because the school was by the road the President was to pass!!
So this is normal life in Sri Lanka. One is reminded of the period leading to the French Revolution chronicled by Charles Dickens in ‘A Tale of Two Cities’. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…….” In Sri Lanka it is the best of times for the ‘Royals’ and ‘Nobles’ and the worst of times for the general public. Are we seeing writings on the wall?
The writer is a Retired Senior Superintendent of Police