Letters
View(s):Elders day fell on October 1
The Elders’ Home: So, here we are!
The beginning of the end is near
That’s why we old-timers are here
Be it women, be it men
We are aware that this is the end.
We are worn and useless now;
Some still straight and some are bowed
The best of us we gave away
Now we are old cast-aways.
Up at sunrise, some sleep not
Listlessly we toss about.
Ablutions done, breakfast too,
Time for moping till lunch is due.
Some pick a chair or sunny spot
Communication is seldom or not.
We sit and gaze into thin air,
Our bodies are weak, our minds are bare.
Great kindness is shown to us
By the Sisters of Christ Jesus
In this home for the aged
But we are beings more or less caged.
We are inmates and on death row,
Time is running out, it maybe tomorrow.
The chapel is here, the undertaker next door,
Yon graveyard is beckoning for more.
George Eddie
Ragama
Walking and driving in the dark!
This is the ‘Kimbulawala walking track’ constructed at a cost of millions of rupees for the benefit of people around the area to keep fit by taking regular walks. Consequently, hundreds of people are seen using this track early in the mornings and especially in the evenings.
This 3.7 km track is beautifully covered with white sand/gravel for the convenience of users. Added to such facilities solar panels with prominent globe type bulbs illuminate the track.
However, during the past six months or so, the maintenance of the place has gone from bad to worse! Many fused bulbs are not being replaced regularly, which makes it too dark and dangerous to walk at late hours and early mornings.
An army of stray dogs that have made the track their permanent resting place, also soil the pathway with their excreta, a constant menace apart from posing the risk of contracting rabies, if bitten in the dark!
Right in front of the busy ‘T junction’ at the end of Japanese Sri Lanka Friendship road at a prominent place,where there is a lot of light all the time, it is strange how anyone can ‘cut’ the whole unit of the solar panel including the globes and bulbs in them and remove them!
Does this point to an act of mischief by drug addicts who are famous for stealing everything to buy drugs when they are desperate for money, or are these units being removed by the authorities for some unknown reason is not clear, but regrettably these two lamp posts stand out like ‘sore thumbs’ in such a beautiful environment.
Another aspect that the authorities should take note of is the absence of any road sign to indicate the end of the T-junction on this Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Road.
It used to have arrows painted in red as a warning, indicating turns to the left and right at the end of the road which reflected from a distance to any motor vehicle when nightfell.
Since it has been removed recently, it is risky for those motorists who are not familiar with this particular road as they come tearing down on the carpeted road at a high speed and risk the possibility of going straight into the Diyawanna Oya and paddy fields!
Recently there were two accidents where a car had crashed through the walking track and a bus plunging into the water early hours of the morning.
Dr. Tilak S. Fernando
Via e mail