| People’s
Forum
By Hiranthi Fernando and Dhananjani Silva
Whose responsibility is this road?
D. P. Wijesinghe Mawatha (formerly Akuregoda Road) in Pelawatte
has been in a disastrous state, full of potholes and massive craters
for many years. There are rare times when residents have their hopes
raised when piles of stones are heaped by the roadside but either
they languish there for months or the repairs done are so shoddy
that within a couple of weeks we are back to square one.
This
is a bus route and there are many important institutions such as
the Construction Equipment Training Centre and YA TV are located
on this road. It is also a highly residential area with many posh-sounding
housing schemes being advertised in the neighbourhood. Alas, if
prospective buyers were aware of the sufferings people have to face
daily on this terrible road they would run away. Why are such basic
infrastructure needs so ignored by our Pradeshiya Sabha?
Long
suffering residents
The Chairman of the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha, Muditha Peries when
contacted by the People's Forum said the by-roads on D. P. Wijesinghe
Mawatha are maintained by the Pradeshiya Sabha while the main road
comes under the Western Provincial Council. Yet, a part of D. P.
Wijesinghe Mawatha was done by the Pradeshiya Sabha recently at
a cost of Rs 1.2 million.
However,
Western Provincial Council Chief Engineer Operations N. S. Wanigapura
said the Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha had only sent a proposal to hand
over D.P. Wijesinghe Mawatha to the Western Province Road Development
Authority (WPRDA). This proposal is among several others and the
takeover has not been approved by the Provincial Council as yet.
Until such time as it is approved and gazetted, the WPRDA is not
responsible for the road and it is not legally possible to get funds
approved to repair the road.
When Peoples' Forum contacted Road Development Authority (RDA) Chairman
M.B.S. Fernando, he said that last year, under the Maga Naguma programme
initiated by the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, 500 km of
Pradeshiya Sabha roads were rehabilitated with the participation
of the Pradeshiya Sabhas and people in the areas. The second Maga
Naguma programme is due to start on March 19, whereby Rs. 1,800
million will be spent on upgrading several roads coming under the
purview of Pradeshiya Sabhas and provincial councils. However, the
initiative has to be taken by the Provincial Councils and Pradeshiya
Sabhas in identifying the roads that need to be done. If D.P. Wijesinghe
Mawatha has been included in this programme, the repairs will start
soon, Mr. Fernando said.
Complaint
about the Grama Niladhari
I made a complaint against the Pinwatte Grama Niladhari to the Divisional
Secretary Panadura on July 1, 2005 about his refusal to entertain
a complaint and make an entry in his official diary.
Having had no reply from D/S Panadura, not even an acknowledgement,
I reported the matter to the District Secretary, Kalutara. He has
done his best to inquire into my complaint, but the Divisional Secretary
has not responded so far.
I shall be thankful if the People's Forum could intervene and settle
the dispute.
K.
A. M. Abeygunawardene
Since you have not stated in detail what your original complaint
regarding the Grama Niladari was or provided more information about
the background to this matter, we regret we are unable to proceed
further.
SLT
bill clarifications
Can you obtain clarifications from Sri Lanka Telecom on the following:
(I) How the 200 free units on domestic calls are deducted, monthly
(II) Why the units consumed against each category are not shown
(III)
(a) Local calls: range and definition
(b) Long-distance call: range and definition
T. A Peiries,
Matale
People's Forum contacted the SLT Billing Section and the clarifications
requested are given below.
(I) The 200 free units on domestic calls are deducted monthly from
the total customer usage through the system. If it is less than
200 units, no call charges will be included and only the rental
will have to be paid.
(II) The units consumed against each category of calls are not shown
but the amount of the units consumed against each category is given
instead.
(III) Local calls dialled without the digit zero (0) come under
the category of local calls. However, in an instance where 0 is
being put in front, it is considered as a long distance call. |
