Innocent targets

By Chandani Kirinde

The exploitation of children by women as tools to gain sympathy while begging on the roads of Colombo and its suburbs has become a major problem and the Police are finding it increasingly difficult to stop such abuse.

The sight of women sitting on road sides or walking upto cars near traffic lights carrying infants, some as young as three months old, with callous disregard to the plight of children is becoming a common sight in the cities.

Police believe that ninety per cent of the women who pose as the mothers of these children are naot so and but are part of an organized racket that uses children to collect more money by subjecting people to emotional blackmail.

"The sight of a woman carrying an infant will make most people feel sorry for them and offer them some money," said Women's and Children's Bureau OIC Neil Hettiaractchi.

He said the Police were fighting a losing battle against this kind of abuse of children by adults as most courts let off such offenders lightly, at most times without even imposing a fine due to lack of evidence to prove that the women are not their real children.

After a few days, these women would be back in the same unscrupulous business exposing the children to the scorching heat, dust and rain.

Asked how the women obtain these children, Mr. Hettiaratchi said there were parents who handed over their children to be used for begging in the mornings and the children are returned to them at the end of the day with a part of the income that is earned from begging.

A number of women begging with children that The Sunday Times spoke to had almost an identical story to tell. Asked where the children's fathers were, four women said their husbands were sick and unable to work.

These similar responses itself seemed highly suspect .One woman begging on the overhead bridge at Maradana with two children whom she claimed were hers did not look more than 18 years of age although she said she was 28.

According to employees at the Kollupitiya station where one woman begs with a child of around six months of, she earns Rs600 to Rs800 a day.

It is difficult getting the children into probation homes as the Courts rule in favour of putting them to such homes only if it is proved the child is an orphan or is being abused by a parent.

The homes provide a better environment for the children to grow where they don't suffer such abuses.

Mr Hettiaratchi said it was necessary for the Police, and Child Care Probation Department and the Courts to work together if this problem is to be solved.

Beira clean-up bogged down

By Faraza Farook and Chamintha Tillekeratne

The ambitious Beira lake project to organise the city sewerage system and clean up the lake has backfired on the authorities with the World Bank questioning the violation of the funding agreement on the one hand and the Government facing obstacles in carrying out the project as planned.

The World Bank, the funding agency for one component of the project which deals with the laying of new sewer lines expressed disappointment over the slow implementation of the project which is part of the Colombo Environmental Improvement Plan (CEIP).

However, Government officials attributed the slow performance to security restrictions and other logistical problems that have restricted working hours for the contractors.

The master plan has three components - Environment plan, Water management plan and the Business plan.

The Beira Lake project is part of the Environment plan which comprises several components including laying of new sewer lines, dredging of the lake, construction of a retaining wall, a linear park which will be 6m-12m wide and the relocation of 850 low income families.

Presently, two components or phases are under implementation i.e. the laying of new sewer lines which will be connected to the Municipal sewer system which exits to the sea and the dredging of the lake.

Phase I deals with the construction of a main sewerage line and a network of sewers to serve the unseweraged areas while Phase II deals with the cleaning and beautification of the lake and its surroundings.

The agreement between the UDA and the World Bank, the funding agency for Phase I, expired in December 1999 by which time the project was still in its initial stages. According to World Bank officials the agreement has been signed for 18 months although government officials have requested the period to be extended till March 2001.

Secretary to the Urban Development Ministry Ananda Gunasekera said that security restrictions, lack of labourers etc. has led to the delay in completion. But he assured that Phase I of the project will be completed by March 2001.

Yet, since the government has overrun the deadline issued by the World Bank by one and a half years in completing the sewer line project, a request to finance phase II of the Beira Lake project has been turned down.

"The World Bank was displeased at first when the UDA failed to complete Phase I of the project by December last year after having spent a sum of Rs.840 million. Government officials cited many reasons for the delay in completion. Yet, it is not a matter that concerns the World Bank as long as the project is completed within the stipulated time frame," World Bank coordinator for the project, M.W.P.Wijesinghe of the CEIP housed in Sethsiripaya, Battaramulla said.

However since World Bank credit is available till June 2001 it has permitted the UDA to continue with the work before the credit expires. But if the World Bank has to extend the credit period, it would create complications. With 80% of the work of phase I completed, World Bank officials hoped that such a situation will not arise.

Among the many reasons sited by the UDA for delay was the security restriction as shift work could not be carried out. The reluctance by labourers to work on this project having to deal with waste material was another contributing factor.

But World Bank officials alleged that the UDA did not employ sufficient sub contractors to complete the project on time.

"A Chinese firm handled the project but the UDA had only granted one sub-contractor to assist it. It could have easily got the assistance of a few more sub-contractors to finish the project before the deadline," World Bank officials complained.

The project deals with unauthorised sewage lines connected to storm water drains leading to the lake constructed almost 150 years ago. As a result, sewage surfaces in the lake along with storm water.

Mr. Wijesinghe said the World Bank financed a pipeline, a one kilometre long micro tunnel, from near the Inland Revenue Department building via Malay Street and Glennie Avenue to a pump house in Slave Island behind Elephant House which has been completed and is in operation at the moment diverting the sewage running into the lake.

Phase II of the project dealing with the cleaning and beautification of the lake and its surroundings is still being carried out and is expected to be completed by the year 2002.

With a request for an extension of credit for this phase being turned down by the World Bank, the Government has started phase II on its own, spending approximately Rs. 35 million so far.

" The World Bank was not ready to fund phase II as the UDA had failed to show where the dredged material from the lake which included heavy metal objects apart from mud and stones would be dumped.

Also, in order to begin phase II, phase I should be completed in a manner where there would be no surfacing of storm water and the lake is fully pollution-free," Mr. Wijesinghe said.

Dredging of the South West lake near the Gangaramaya temple began on September 24 last year and is now complete.

However, the UDA is faced with the problem of disposing the dredged material.

"The lake is so polluted that the dredged material is toxic. It contains heavy metals in addition to other waste products. We can't dump these into a landfill because it can pollute the area around," Director, Project Management, UDA Hemantha Jayasundara said.

Though it was suggested that the dredged material be pumped into the sea, opposition by some concerned parties has restrained the UDA from going ahead with the suggestion.

Though dredging of the South West lake is said to be complete, garbage was still seen along the edges of the lake, defeating the purpose of it being dredged.

The dredged material presently dumped on one side of the lake is separated by sand bags but this is of no avail with the toxic material seeping through especially during rains.

Meanwhile dwellers on the edges of the Beira lake are facing the threat of eviction.

Mr. Jayasundara said that those around the lake have been informed of the eviction. "We will be re-locating families living around the lake and alternative premises will be given to business institutions," he said.

Work on the other three lakes - East lake, Galle Face lake and the West lake will begin soon, he said. An estimated Rs. 235 million will be spent on the other three lakes, he said.

Low cost high return projects badly needed in Matara: Sagala

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Sagala Gajendra Ratnayake is among the youngest legislators of the 11th Parliament. At 31, the former Royal College head prefect is passionate about creating a new political culture where youth find a level playing field, better employment and less reason for an uprising. Armed with a US degree in Business Administration, Mr. Ratnayake in his very first profile interview recognizes unemployment and lack of infrastructure as being the two main drawbacks in his otherwise resourceful district of Matara.

Excerpts:

Q: As a relative newcomer to power politics, what was the level of competition you faced in Matara, having to compete with an assortment of powerful PA members and established UNP politicians?

A: It is tough for anyone to win, given the present backdrop of strong-arm politics. The UNP had to work against government machinery and personnel. Matara has several PA leaders, so there was a certain concentration on Matara. It was no plain sailing for me either. The results demonstrate that people wished to infuse young blood and overhaul the system. Despite tough competition, I think people have approved of my stint at the provincial council.

Q: In your jump from provincial to national level politics, how did your political background contribute to success?

A: My uncle Victor Ratnayake is a respected politician. His reputation contributed in helping me lay a foundation in provincial politics. Thereafter, I had to prove my mettle. Despite feeling surprised about my desire to enter the fray, my family played a supportive role. Unless people endorsed my performance, I would not be painting on a larger canvas today.

Q: Hailing from a district with the highest unemployment rate, how do you propose to address the burning issues?

A: It is a sad thing when young people seek employment from me- without a clue as to what they want. It is a tragic mixture of inadequate counselling, lack of exposure and personal growth resulting in unemployment.

As an opposition member, I feel thoroughly constrained, unlike a government politician. With the decentralized allocation of a paltry five million rupees, one cannot even properly complete a rural electrification project.

Q: In that case, what can an opposition member actually do in his electorate?

A: The only option is to be imaginative. Introducing teaching of English, computer science and providing vocational training are things we could organize. These are what I recognize as low-cost, high return projects which are badly needed in districts like ours.

Q: Why is it that despite all the passionate pledges of development of the area, Matara finds itself in a thoroughly under-developed state?

A: If these politicians did their bit, Matara should be paradise regained. Even minor things have not been achieved. This district requires a comprehensive, accelerated development program covering areas like ports, power and energy, roads and railways. For example, development of an alternate route could effectively connect Deniyaya with Embilipitiya, but nobody bothered with such little details.

Q: If Matara is so under-developed, shouldn't the UNP, which ruled for 17 years accept the blame? The government's argument is that the UNP harps on a few large projects while they developed the infrastructure?

A: It is a classic explanation of the idle politician. The South requires massive projects to generate employment. Irrigation needs revival, the fisheries industry more support. Deniyaya for example requires its tea industry nurtured.

The PA talks big about infrastructure but keeps itself afloat thanks to the UNP's bigger projects. Take the Mahaweli programme. We continue minor power projects thanks to the network it created. The PA's contribution to this area has remained the addition of a few transformers.

Q: The South has always been volatile and provided the backdrop to two uprisings? Hailing from Deniyaya- a veritable JVP hub, how do you view the JVP's increasing popularity and its role as a vibrant opposition party?

A: I have personally been at the receiving end of the 1988 JVP terror. We have also lost properties twice to JVP activities. I was the head prefect of Royal College in 1988, and we strived to prevent violence and the breakdown of law creeping into school premises. I received threatening notes daily, and had to travel in different vehicles to school.

But the JVP is doing their little things right. They tap the emotions of the people and remain in the arena due to the two main political forces failing to honour the trust placed in them rather than for any positive aspects the JVP represents.

Q: There have been allegations of widespread election malpractices and violence at the recent polls. How did that affect you?

A: Matara was a better example of PA politics- going by the disastrous Nuwara Eliya example. We have filed election petitions in rejection of the fraudulent results. We have no wish to further destroy democracy by creating anarchy. But the UNP needs to develop a democratic mode of countering what we call the 'Samurdhi mechanism'.

Q: Are you satisfied with the UNP's recent performance?

A: Given the constraints, yes. But we need a strong grassroots level organization.

There are lessons for all of us in this electoral result. People have decreed that we work together and come up with a common agenda. For this, we all must overcome that inherent fear that another would claim credit for a job well done. We need to get the system moving as this country has suffered enough.

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