Letters to the Editor
View(s):We must support the Govt. to overcome the present crisis
After the April 21 terrorist attacks, the country is facing many difficulties. The Government is trying their best to bring the situation under control.
The economic situation of the country is not good. Political stability is also not good. The tourism industry is facing very serious problems. There are security problems. Foreign investments have come down.
Transactions at the Colombo Stock Exchange have dropped. The value of the Rupee related to US Dollar has gone down. There are problems in the industrial and agriculture sectors. There is a debt crisis.
The Government is trying to solve these problems one by one.
We do not say that this a very good government. There are lapses. But if the Government is not good, we can change it at the next election. We can see the situation becoming normal slowly and gradually. The Government cannot perform miracles. It is very easy to criticize, but not easy to govern the country according to the people’s expectations.
At this stage it is our duty to support the Government. No government can improve a country without the support of the people. This Government has several more months. After that there will be a Presidential election or a General election.
So we must allow this Government to bring the situation under control. If there are problems these should be discussed with the Government. We can also discuss matters with the leader of the Opposition. There are political parties to look into the problems. There are civil society organisations to discuss any grievances with the Government.
We must not try to fish in troubled waters. Let us support the Government to bring the situation under control. By trying to sabotaging the activities of the Government, it is the people of this country who will have to suffer.
D. Weeratunga Nugegoda
Dehiwela- Mount Lavinia MC: Heed our complaints
The Dehiwela- Mount Lavinia Municipal Council probably provides the worst service to the residents living in their area than any other Municipal/Urban Council in the country.
The basic services they are expected to provide are going from bad to worse while the rates and taxes are being increased every year. Residents never see the elected member who is responsible for looking after his/her ward. It is only before elections that they visit and promise heaven and earth.
Given below are a few examples.
(1) Drains on either side of the roads opposite households which are blocked with muck and stagnant water, breeding mosquitoes and thereby dengue are never cleaned even after the MC is informed. However it is only large houses the PHIs check for mosquito breeding locations and are quick to fine, often on fabricated reasons.
(2) Sudden frequent breakdown in power supply damaging the household electric items purchased at high cost. These have recently been occurring two three times daily during the day and at night. This is despite power being switched off the whole day over weekends once a month after prior notice for so-called maintenance.
(3) Collection of garbage is irregular and the waste items taken are at the whim and fancy of the collectors. Recently the Municipality circulated a handout requiring waste to be segregated and kept in separate bags for collection on specific days in the week. The waste is required to be separated under (a) Biodegradable /kitchen waste, (b) clean polythene/card board/coconut shells/paper waste/glass/bulb,(c) sanitary waste/cloths/leather.
(4) This proposed segregation of waste in separate packing has not taken into account the inconvenience to the housewife but appears to be for the convenience of the garbage collectors to sell the items that can be sold to make money. We call upon any relevant Govt. authority to issue guidelines on the manner garbage should be segregated by households in the entire country for all Municipal/Urban Councils to follow.
K. Jayanath Kohuwela
We need an unknown hero to regain our country
“Some have greatness thrust upon them”, said Shakespeare, and with every passing day, Pallawatte Gamaralage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena, (alias, simply - “The President”), proves this point.
Elected to the Presidency only due to the nation’s disgust with the high- handedness of his predecessor, he is, (unfortunately for us), quite “out of his depth”. When the Easter Sunday tragedy struck, the President was literally, “all at sea”, in Singapore and did not hurry to get back to deal with the crisis. He blamed the leaders of our hardworking Security forces, whom he himself had shackled!
He also moved the wedding of his son, scheduled for May 9, from the bombed out Shangri-La Hotel, to the Colombo Hilton and went ahead with the grand reception while the country mourned.
Any leader worth his salt would have opted to register the marriage and postpone the grand reception indefinitely.
Therefore the call by Chula Goonasekera, writing in the ‘Letters’ column of the Sunday Times, (June 2), simply voices what everyone is thinking- An unknown hero must emerge from nowhere, to save Sri Lanka from its misgovernance.He must be someone who will rule with benevolence, honesty, and an iron fist, with or without a velvet glove- and NO ONE among the present useless crop in Parliament today, can fit the bill.
We have had enough of “leaders” who grab million rupee gratifications from shady sources, and then boast that they don’t need the money because their family is already wealthy.
Meanwhile, as the country looks for leadership, President Sirisena, “forgives” and releases a controversial monk, thereby abusing this presidential privilege as well, in his desperate search for votes. Ven. Sobhitha Thera, who fought and spoke to bring this President to office, must be mourning with the rest of us!
JAYMAN Via email