Letters
View(s):Taken for a ride over and over again
Private passenger buses have been granted a fare revision, but the all-important question that begs an answer is whether commuters enjoy any facilities which justify the demand to pay more for a journey from one point to another.
Buses operated by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) are limited in scale, and perhaps, it can, therefore be accepted as argument that private operators are way ahead in terms of numbers. And they call the shots.
Despite the infusion of a fleet of new buses to the SLTB, the impact is minimal and there is certainly no element of surprise on that score. But, the point I want to drive home is that the state-run SLTB is on reverse gear more due to lack of a cohesive plan on route operations rather than being low on the number of buses it operates.
Take Route No. 155 (Soysapura-Mattakkuliya) as a tragic example. During ‘weak’ hours, private operators reap a bountiful harvest by gleefully overloading their buses, while suffocating passengers are asked to dish out an enhanced fare, while virtually standing on one leg!
Some of these buses are so old and rickety that I am sure they can be deemed non-roadworthy. There is the aged blue bus where the space between the seats is so restricted that travellers end up injuring their knees! Obviously, this bus operator has added more seats to his old contraption in contravention of the law. There is another with gaping spaces on the far edges of the floorboard but is allowed to operate with impunity.
The 155 is notorious for being driven frustratingly slow to pick up more passengers, stopping for too long at bus halts (Mt. Lavinia/Dehiwala/Wellawatte junctions, Vihara Lane and Bambalapitiya Flats in particular on its Mattakkuliya – bound journey) as the SLTB has deliberately opened the flank for a monopoly by private busmen on this lucrative route.
Despite this being the only service which cuts across the Colombo University, Town Hall, Maradana, Armour Street, Kotahena and up to Mattakkuliya on the Galle Road, commuter traffic is very heavy. Many are the patients who board to seek treatment at the National/Eye hospitals. At Bambalapitiya junction, passengers, mostly university students are sardine packed and travel in agony, with many on the footboard at the risk of their young lives. (Surprisingly, the traffic police tend to ignore this violation).
While this nightmare continues for helpless travellers, why does the SLTB, which is facing a grave financial crisis, not only ease the burden of commuters but also supplement its revenue? In their wisdom, SLTB bigwigs detail buses from Town Hall when most of the passengers had disembarked mostly near Colombo University, Thurstan Road, Royal and Nelum Pokuna during morning hours. The buses are almost empty after they reach Town Hall as the National/Eye hospitals and offices draw hundreds of people to this area on a daily basis.
Depending on luck, a SLTB bus or two could be available from Bambalapitiya junction on a rare day, but one cannot count on it. Private busmen have a field day due to the nonchalance of the SLTB, which, I repeat, sadly lacks route planning.
How many half empty SLTB buses can be seen plying from Moratuwa to Pettah (a route cluttered with private operators), when there is a virtual monopoly allowed on highly lucrative routes? Apart from 155, 183, 255, 163, 154 and 192 are among profitable routes with heavy volumes of passenger traffic, but remain neglected. The SLTB seems to be more interested in running empty buses to Pettah!
Why is that the SLTB is not keen in operating the 154 from Angulana (to Kiribathgoda) rather than opt to push in a bus or two from Bambalapitya junction in the mornings? This is another route where private bus operators hold sway much to the agony of commuters.
There is a plethora of authoritative institutions with their rank and file paid with public funds to improve public transport but even after reading this heart-wrenching narrative, will there be relief?
Suffering commuter
Colombo
Grateful thank you from ex-servicemen
It will be ungrateful if I don’t record my appreciation of the tremendous services done by the Army Hospital, especially to the ex-service personnel, who are sick and old when they go to this hospital for treatment.
The new hospital in Narahenpita has a special ward for the ex-Service personnel, where they are treated for all sorts of ailments.
I, on behalf of all ex-Service personnel thank the Commander of the Army, Director Army Medical Services, Commanding Officer, Colonel Commandant and other ranks of Army Hospital for the services they are rendering. Thank you, Sirs.
C.M.Mayadeen
Colombo
Masters and servants: There’s more
With reference to D. Weerathunga’s letter titled ‘The way we treat our servants’ in the Sunday Times of July 10, I wish to add my two cents worth.
1. Masters are privileged and worshipful during the elections but when servants become Manthrih-amuduruwos they become privileged and worshipful and all powerful.
2. Masters make do with houses with minimum rent and facilities while servants live in super luxury mansions provided by the Government. Masters consume the barest minimum of electricity and water while the bills in servants’ mansions run to lakhs.
3. Masters have to admit their children to the closest school to home while servants can admit their children to any prestigious school anywhere in the island.
4. At their workplaces masters eat a packet of rice for Rs. 130 while servants enjoy a meal costing about Rs. 4000 at a five star hotel for only about Rs 200.
5. Masters who enter the Government service have to possess minimum educational qualifications and possess a good character and go through a medical test; servants don’t have to worry about any of them, they need only brawn and a loud, foul mouth.
6. Masters in Government services are strictly bound by the ARR and FRR; servants don’t care two hoots for the standing orders that are supposed to govern them.
7. Masters are liable to dismissal and even imprisonment if they resort to bribery while servants can resort to bribery and corruption with impunity.
8. Masters can’t fight in their workplaces, run about with raised sarongs, attack their opponents, use unsavoury language and hold sit-in protests throughout the night in the august assembly.
9. Masters remanded for any offence have to sleep on a mat; servants get at least a mattress or a bed in the Merchants Ward of the National Hospital.
10. Masters have to account for their wealth while the servants amass wealth but don’t account for it.
11. Masters in the Government service have to work for 10 years to qualify for a pension and wait until 55 years to draw it. Servants who simply warm their seats qualify for a pension after a mere four years and get pension increases every time pensions are revised.
12. Once dismissed from service masters can’t re-enter it, servants can be dismissed (by the masters) and be re-elected any number of times.
13. Masters are compulsorily retired at 60 years of age while servants have no retirement age and can go on till they reach old age senility.
S. Abeywicrama
Nugegoda
A biteful of poison: We are back to the old game
It is common knowledge that it is almost impossible,to buy any fruit other than chemically force-ripened fruit, in most parts of the country.
The kinds of fruits in high demand such as banana, papaw, pineapple and avocado are so much affected,that it is a waste of good money to buy them and a crime against our delicious fruits, while creating a void in our nutrition.
This situation also drives us to more expensive imported varieties which the average families could ill afford.
Some months back the authorities made threats and for a couple of weeks,we enjoyed untreated fruits. Soon matters reverted to the old mess and now sometimes the chemical spraying is openly done.
At a time when there is so much attention on weaning paddy farmers from pesticides, it is regrettable that nobody seems to be worried about the fruits that we are consuming.
The easy way out for the authorities would be the declaration”Lack of staff”. Overstaffing is to be noted in certain institutions .Withdraw some of the staff, attach them to the Public Health Sector for a couple of weeks at a time, give them a short training, activate and effect the law and send them back to their departments when no longer needed.
Even government pensioners may volunteer for this type of activity, for the common good.
If there is a will, methods could be formulated to curb these anti social crimes.
Let us hope for some positive action soon.
W.G.Wimalaratne
Kurunegala
Bring on the garbage from all corners of the country
If we can get people to dispose garbage methodically we will not only see a cleaner environment but it will also reduce the cost of collection and incidence of diseases like dengue.
Having seen a news item that Singapore fined a Sri Lankan 50 dollars for littering a street prompted me to write this letter. Visitors to Singapore can see the efforts they take to protect the environment. Heavy fines and jail terms are imposed on those who litter, damage public property etc.
Since we have got used to unacceptable ways of disposing garbage this cannot be done overnight. But we could start at school level educating the children how, when and where to dispose garbage. Obviously the children will take the message home and coupled with legislation to punish the offenders, we should be able to live in a better environment in the long run.
Unfortunately the support, guidance and contribution from our elected representatives leaves much to be desired. To highlight the problem, I would suggest organising four pada yatras from the north, south, east and west to converge on Colombo simultaneously collecting garbage left on the wayside which will show the magnitude of the problem when tons and tons of garbage arrive in Colombo.
Mrs. I Weerasinghe
Via email
Doctors, lawyers also need to undergo ‘fit to practise’ evaluation
Heavy duty licence holders are subject to an evaluation every year to assess their fitness to drive trucks. Some others too are evaluated for their ability to have control over the mechanical contraptions they work with.
I think just as these people are subjected to scrutiny about their sanity and ability, all doctors should be assessed by a Psychiatrist annually to assess whether they are sane, able to handle their work and whether they are fit to practise.
I do not have to cite anything to support my case other than the actions of the ‘doctors’ who give certificates to the institutions of Justice, saying that their VIP clients are sick and need to be hospitalised in private ‘quarters’ in hospitals so escaping the justice meted out to the common public who have toiled morning noon and night to pay for these VIPs’ luxury living!!!
P.S. You could include the lawyers too who seek the Law and not Justice!!
Rohan Wickramaratne
Via email
Wake up! ‘Sleeping policemen’ need of the hour for alternative railway gates
With the recent work stoppage of rail gatekeepers, yet another tragedy has occurred, due to unhindered access across a railway line. Readers will recall that a simple, low cost and an effective proposal sent by me appeared in both Sinhala and English press under the title ‘A viable, low cost alternative for Railway gates’ as far back as in July 2013. It was followed by reminders in the press as and when similar tragedies occurred in the ensuing years. Copies of the proposal were also sent to the relevant Ministry and the Railway Dept. but to no avail of course.
If some action was taken to construct speed- breakers (humps) on either side of this particular railway crossing, this tragedy would surely have been prevented. It is sad and unfortunate that the authorities concerned turn a blind eye to public opinion.
About two years ago, the Ministry of Higher Education launched a competition to attract low –cost, effective proposals to solve this Railway crossings problem. My proposal too was submitted for consideration. Regrettably, no concrete action seems to have been taken towards this end. However, during a recent visit to the Hatton area I came across an instance of my proposal in action. Being strangers to the area we were forced to bring our vehicle to a virtual halt and notice the Railway crossing ahead of us. In this regard it is also pertinent to quote a villager from Wanwasala who said “No one can rely on that bell. Sometimes when it rains heavily it rings continuously till someone fixes it. Anyway, vehicles with their shutters closed and the radio on, wouldn’t hear the bell.”This clearly shows the inherent drawbacks of high –cost, technical solutions as well as their inability to adequately warn the motorists who sometimes are really negligent.
In the circumstances, the best option is not to rely fully on audio or visual warnings but to virtually force the motorists to either stop or slow down. Motorists in Sri Lanka are well used to slowing- down or stopping their vehicles on seeing a road-breaker and we have hardly witnessed accidents caused by road-breakers.
It is admitted that road-breakers are not feasible for all railway crossings particularly at those where sharp bends are encountered.
I sincerely hope that the authorities will at least now take prompt steps to install the proposed low-cost, effective road-breakers also known as ‘Sleeping Policemen’ at the unprotected and even manned railway crossings in order to prevent these unfortunate accidents arising from work stoppages or otherwise in the future.
Bernard Fernando
Moratuwa
Forthright observations
Hats off to Citizen Silva for his forthright contribution in the Sunday Times of August 21 under the column ‘Monthly musings’.
When he says, “Sadly we in this country are now governed by a set of leaders who appear to be so subservient to the dictates of the US that we keep bending over backwards to obtain the approval of these low level functionaries of a government that functions in the world today with absolute no regard for the human rights of the Afghans, the Syrians, the Iraqis” who in Sri Lanka can deny it?
P.P.
Via email
Open letter to DGs of DWC & CGR: Stop jumbo deaths on rail tracks
The Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) would like to express its grave concern over the recent killing of four wild elephants who were hit by a train on the northern line. This is not the first time that such an event has taken place on the northern and eastern rail lines, particularly between the Habarana and Gal Oya Junctions, and despite a lot of discussion, nothing seems to have been done about it.
The proposed solution by DG – DWC of setting infra-red cameras on trains,as suggested by you in the local media ignores the root cause of this tragic killing. Train drivers are given a directive that they should travel at just 18 km per hour in areas frequented by elephants. The fact that one young elephant was dragged for an estimated distance of 300 metres, indicates the actual speed at which this train was travelling…a lot faster than 18 km per hour! It is a miracle that the train was not derailed and human victims added to that of elephants.
At such speeds, even the installation of an infra-red camera will not give the engine driver sufficient time to brake, or the elephants the opportunity to get off the tracks. In addition, the placing of wildlife officers on every train is not practical or sustainable, and of little effect if the trains continue to travel at high speed. This incident has to be investigated impartially and thoroughly. Any wrongdoing that led to this tragedy has to be addressed and those responsible penalised speedily.
This is a problem that began in the 1950s, when the transition began from steam to diesel powered engines, and has steadily worsened since. Previous consultations on this between members of the WNPS and the DWC, four years ago, resolved that the best, long-term solution for this problem would be strict controls on the speed limits in these areas, coupled with the installation of an infra-sound whistle that elephants could hear at a distance and so move away. This is successfully practised in Africa and could be used here, though local researchers will have to determine the alarm frequency of Sri Lankan elephants, with international consultants, if necessary. It is also time to look at creating underpasses at critical (traditional) elephant crossing points, along the rail-track. This, too, has been successfully implemented in other countries.
As such, I, therefore, call for urgent action (that goes beyond words, workshops and meetings) by the authorities concerned, with the consultation of suitable experts.
A permanent solution to this frequent killing of an endangered species, classed as Public Property, by a public transport system has to be found. A species that has a prominent role in the long history of this country, forms part of the irreplaceable natural wealth and whose continued existence is vital for the future prosperity of this country Sri Lanka.
As such, we eagerly await your prompt response to this letter and most importantly offer our assistance in, the setting up of a qualified panel of experts to try and formulate a workable plan for preventing this needless and inhumane killing of a legally protected species.
Rukshan Jayewardene
President
Wildlife & Nature Protection Society
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