Letters
View(s):Proposed traffic plan a nightmare for women drivers
A recent news report said that one of the measures the authorities were contemplating to deal with the growing traffic congestion in Colombo is to ban vehicles entering Colombo if they carry only one passenger.
A vehicle should carry at least 3 passengers, according to a proposal.
This will create a lot of hazards to women drivers. In a country where even three-month-old baby girls and 70-year-old women are raped, will it be safe for women drivers to carry unknown men in their cars?
They could gang up and prey on these innocent women. They can point a gun at a woman driver and take the car to a lonely place to rape her.
They can even rob money at gun point. Even women passengers can turn out to be bad or even worse than the men.
Even male drivers are not safe from gangsters. They too could be subject to sexual assault and robbed at gun point. Whoever proposed this short-sighted plan should think of alternative plans such as building overhead train tracks in the metropolis as seen in New Delhi.
These trains can operate along Galle Road, High Level Road, Borella, Wattala and other areas where there is a lot of traffic jams. It can ease the traffic jam to a great extent.
M.R. Mathiasz
Dehiwala
Imperial emblems will remain stuck to post boxes
This has reference to R.B.C. Ariyarathnam’s letter in the Sunday Times of December 20. The post box at Nugegoda post office also carries the same imperial relics — the crown with the letters G and R (George Rex).
About 15 years ago, I wrote to the press, requesting the relevant authorities to replace the age-old emblem with the present emblem but no action has been taken yet.
Senior government officials are provided with free newspapers but they do not probably read what is relevant to their official business.
Perhaps, they won’t act until the minister issues orders because they are afraid that they will be found fault with for not waiting till orders or denying the minister the opportunity to lambast colonial rulers and earn a few more votes at the next election.
I am prepared to take a bet with Mr. Ariyarathnam that Jaffna and Nugegoda post boxes will continue to carry that same old imperial emblem for at least another decade.
S. Abewicrama
Nugegoda
Keep an eye on High-Level road leading to Maharagama
Firstly, I would like to commend the Police and the government for taking steps to introduce the new traffic lane system, which was a long felt need in the country.
Whilst a few users, may complain of delays and other issues, one needs to look at this system in a holistic manner and what can be achieved from it. It has introduced lane discipline to road users meaning motorists and others and also safety.
Whilst you get many drivers, still driving into oncoming traffic from the opposite direction, this has been reduced to a great extent.
I would like to request the Police Department to keep a keen eye on High-Level road leading upto Maharagama, where motorists including three-wheeler drivers and bus drivers continue to break the rules.
This is a continuing nuisance and strict punishment needs to be meted out to those who break road traffic rules. More police officers need to be put on duty on this stretch of the road, to ensure that lane discipline is strictly maintained.
Sri Lankans in modern times, lack self-discipline and are selfish road users.
You can see this in the manner pedestrians jay-walk and cross the roads in any manner, caring little for road rules, pedestrian crossings and incoming traffic, risking their own lives.
Therefore, it is not only motorists who should be fined and penalised but pedestrians too, especially on the busy High-Level road.
I certainly hope that the Police Department would continue to improve on the lane system and ensure a safe driving experience to all users, without fear or favour.
L. de Silva
Via email
Lamp post issue: Don’t take this plea lightly
In urban areas, the purpose of providing street lamps may be to illuminate the streets and beautify a city or town. In Interior villages, the purpose is largely to illuminate the streets.
But is this really happening? Who identifies the places where street lamps should be and the distance between two lamp posts.
Rammalaka is an interior village in the Udunuwara electorate. It comes under Udunuwara Pradeshiya Sabha. There are a few street lamps along the village road.
I do not know who decided on the places to erect the lamps posts and on what grounds? Whoever it was, the job was not done by a qualified person.
Recently some employees from the Ceylon Electricity Board’s Yatinuwara office visited Rammalaka and removed the bulb and other equipment of a street lamp, leaving only the post.
They would have removed the post also if it was possible.
I reported this to the CEB Yatinuwara office and the officer in charge said it was an unauthorised street lamp and as such they had to remove it.
I wonder whether this particular officer had ever visited Rammalaka and seen the places where there are lamp posts.
Then I complained to the CEB’s Kandy office. Officials there referred me to Eriyagama to meet the engineer. When I visited his office, he was out on official work.
A female clerk then contacted the Yatinuwara office over the phone and told me what the Yatinuwar a Board officer said, “It is an Unauthorised One”.
Then I went to the Udunuwara Pradeshiya Sabha. The secretary was out so I made a complaint to the next senior official. But so far no action has been taken.
It is more than a month since the lamp was removed. I have reported the matter to all officers concerned, but nothing has been done. I presume all these officers go by the Yatinuwara officer’s word.
I make a kind request to the Minister and the CEB Chairman to instruct a senior officer to visit Rammalaka and see the places where the street lamps are and the place where the post was stripped.
M.S. Mohamed Farook
Wattappola
Duty free vehicle permits only for migrant workers
I welcome the Government’s budget proposal to save millions of rupees by scrapping the duty free permit scheme. The money saved can be diverted to fund welfare schemes.
I cannot understand why some are agitated and angry over this proposal. Why cannot they understand that a poor country like Sri Lanka cannot afford such a scheme and other luxuries which are bestowed on a certain section of people?
Our members of Parliament are not happy and are fighting to win back the duty-free concession. Why car permits for only MPs and certain categories of the public servants?
If MPs, doctors and state officials are given this concession, everyone will clamour for this permit, citing various reasons.
To serve one section of the population with a silver spoon and some with a ‘Polkatu Handa’ is unreasonable and not keeping up with ‘Yahapalanaya.’
I propose the Government scrap this duty free vehicle import scheme once and for all.
In my opinion, the most suitable people to be given a car permit are our migrant workers, who are working under trying conditions and sending their hard earned foreign exchange to this country, so that once they come back, they can make use of this permit to start a new business or sell their permit and make some money.
It is nothing but right if they make some money.
The Government can formulate a scheme based on the total value of foreign exchange they have sent to Sri Lanka.
B. Joseph
Wattala
Why can’t we be more punctual and disciplined?
Earlier this month, I was a guest at a certain university’s post-graduate convocation at the BMICH. My wife was one of the post-graduates. I write this to share some of my observations to highlight the behaviour of some of the guests at the event.
Passes issued to the guests well ahead of the ceremony carried instructions in Sinhala, Tamil and English. Guests were asked to take their seats by 8.30 a.m. the latest, and not to take photographs inside the auditorium.
The use of cellular phones, cameras and other electronic devices during the ceremony was prohibited.
The points relating to photographs inside the auditorium and use of electronic devices were highlighted in bold letters to emphasise that these were to be strictly complied with.
Seating arrangements for guests had been made in the balcony and some guests began to arrive by 8 a.m. to take their seats. As per the instructions all guests were expected to be in their seats by 8.30 a.m.
But, only about 60 percent of the balcony seats were filled by that time.
However, people were allowed in even after 8.30 am and the remaining 40% of the seats were finally filled only around 9.15 a.m. The ceremony started around 9.30 a.m. with the arrival of the chancellor.
I was wondering how ignorant (or smart) the latecomers were. May be those latecomers were aware that punctuality was not taken seriously in Sri Lanka and decided that they could take their own time.
One would expect only a handful of late comers on such a special day and event due to unforseeen incidents (such as accidents), but for so many to come late was shocking.
In addition to the written instructions against the use of cameras and mobile phones inside the auditorium it was also announced just before the start of the ceremony that these were strictly prohibited.
But unfortunately some guests blatantly disregarded this after the ceremony started. BMICH officers who were present to ensure proper conduct of the guests also ignored the plea.
Mobile phones rang several times showing utter disregard for the organisers and disrespect for the event. A few SMS alert tones were also heard. Also many people started logging onto Facebook and other social media from their mobile phones.
All this shows that we have a long way to go to become a disciplined nation, let alone a developed nation.
Prasanna Gamage
Via email
Reduce licence fee for diesel vehicles
I am an 88-year-old retired public servant, owning a 40-year-old Mercedes Benz car without AC, power steering, power shutters and other options.
All the running I do is to go to the town that is two km away once a week to buy my medicine and other odd requirements. My neighbour, a sales representative, travels about 100 km a day.
The Finance Minister will no doubt agree with me that it is unfair that both of us should pay the same amount as road tax, in the event the tax is collected at the point of licensing the car.
I use this Benz only because its running costs are much less than any small car in the market for it hardly needs repairs even though it is about half my age. Besides I cannot afford to buy even the cheapest car for it costs nearly Rs.2 m.
When my car was converted to run on diesel, a large sum was paid as tax. Yearly, I am made to pay Rs. 8,000 by way of tax while a similar car driven on petrol is charged only half that amount.
The tax was fixed when the price of diesel was about half the price of petrol. Now there is only a small difference between the prices of petrol and diesel.
Hence I appeal to the minister to do away with the disparity that exists in the annual licence fees between petrol and diesel-driven cars.
Bernard Premawardhana
Via email
Letters of appointment: The sickening message
Many decades ago, when I was recruited as a staff officer, my letter of appointment signed by the Secretary of the Public Service Commission was sent by Registered Post.
This admirable practice continued for many years. Alas! today’s obnoxious practice is for the relevant minister to invite the selected applicants to a large hall and call them up, one by one, to humbly collect their letters of appointment.
The whole sickening practice is duly recorded by TV cameras. Can there ever be an “independent Public Service” after this brazen display of patronage?
T.D.
The Elders’ home: The end is near
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 castaways.
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 a 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 of the aged
But we beings are more or less caged.
We are inmates and in death row.
Times running out, it may be tomorrow.
The chapel is here the undertaker next door;
Yon’ graveyard is beckoning for more.
George Eddie
Ragama
Ways to control rabies and stray dog problem
When you own a dog you are faced with legal and other responsibilities. Generally, keeping dogs does not present problems to the public, unless owners allow them to become a nuisance to the public by letting their dogs stray.
Responsible dog owners should register their dogs with the local authority after getting them vaccinated by a qualified veterinary surgeon.
If all dog owners and concerned officers were responsible then the problem of strays would be curtailed and a clean neighborhood maintained.
A charge for keeping dogs was first levied in Britain in 1796. Every dog over the age of six months has to be licensed in Britain.
In the United States, although the laws regulating dog ownership differ from state to state, the dogs must be licensed at the age of four months.
In some countries dogs have been outlawed. In China, the tax on dogs was raised so sharply that only a few were able to have dogs.
At present, the registration fee for dogs is 1,000 yen (US$ 120). The fines for unregistered dogs are as high as 2,000 yen (US$ 240).
If your dog is spayed or neutered at an officially licensed and registered animal hospital, the hospital will issue a official neuter certificate. This certificate entitles you to a 50% discount to register a pet dog.
In Sri Lanka, the Registration of Dog Ordinance was introduced in 1901. The ratification of the ordinance was last done in 1961.
According to the ordinance, “the occupant of a house or premises where any dog or dogs are kept, permitted to live or remain, shall be liable to pay the registration fees for such dog or dogs, and in default of such payment shall be liable to the penalties incurred by persons keeping unregistered dogs unless the said occupant can prove satisfaction of the magistrate”. So there is a clear law on registration of animals.
The ordinance also states that the concerned authority to do this job is the Local Authority. (Pradeshiya Sabhas, urban and municipal councils).
While most local authorities show much interest in enforcing the Rabies Ordinance and seize stray dogs, they have failed to enforce the Registration of Dogs Ordinance.
Every local authority should have a by-law to strictly enforce the Animal Act and the Rabies Act.
If the Government is really keen to eliminate the stray dog problem and rabies, then the local council and veterinary authorities with the assistance of the health authorities should work together.
A pre-requisite of a rabies vaccination certificate from a qualified veterinarian (from the government or private sector) before registration would be a beginning to control the problems of strays and rabies.
Over to you, Ministers of Health, Local Government and Animal Husbandry.
Dr. Allagamuthu Nandakumar
Via email
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