Letters to the Editor

An open letter to the President
Weed-mixed grass seed:Weed it out before it’s too late
In the very best national and public interests and concerns of this country, I am constrained to address this open letter to you at this time. This has to do with a prominently displayed news item on page 2 of The Sunday Times of March 26 titled "Harry seeking release of weed-mixed grass seed?"

The body of the news item mentions further that approval for the release of the weed-admixed grass seed has had the nod of the Agriculture Development Ministry Secretary, ignoring objections of the quarantine officials of the Colombo Port and from the Director of the Seed Certification and Plant Protection Centre of the Agriculture Department of Peradeniya.

The news item also goes on to identify the admixed weed seed as being that of a weed species "Bromus mollis" not recorded in the country and the particular species described as being invasive and resistant to drought and temperature variations. The Peradeniya Botanical Gardens chief is also mentioned as saying that the import of any type of weeds is harmful as it could spread in the country.

Strangely enough, the news item has no reference whatever to the Director General of Agriculture, himself, who the writer of this letter presumed was the sole authority in respect of the import of any seed/planting material, leave alone approvals for the release of this suspect consignment of seed, apparently illegally imported as well. The news item under reference would however make out that the Secretary under reference as being the authority to approve or countermand the release of this suspect consignment. If this should indeed be the case, the writer of this letter can only be surprised that administrators probably without the necessary expertise should be in such positions of authority!!

Now, what is even more pertinent to this submission are the considered reasons of the Ministry Secretary under reference for approving the release of this suspect consignment. In terms of the news item the Ministry Secretary is reported as saying that his decision was on an "experimental basis" and on a guarantee by the company that it would not allow the harmful weeds to flower and allow regular inspections of the pastures. In addition he is reported as stating that "the imported seeds are high quality animal feed and if I stop this because of a FEW CONTAMINATED SEED (my capitalization), the development of the dairy industry may suffer. So I decided to allow it on an experimental basis”.

As a retired Deputy Director of Agriculture, and with all deference to the Ministry Secretary under reference, I can only consider this reasoning/logic as quite amateurish, with apparently little appreciation of the inherent dangers of this decision to the agricultural destinies of this country - at best, I can only consider the Ministry Secretary's reasoning as being "pennywise, pound foolish". Regrettably, it also displays a lack of fundamental knowledge that weeds can spread not only by flowering/seeding but vegetatively as well. And, the particular weed species described by experts and subject matter specialists of the Agriculture Department as being invasive and resistant to drought and temperature variations, could well be a pernicious deep rooted graminaceous (grass family) weed which could well defy eradication once it takes a hold on the land. One can also only be amused of every Dick, Tom or a Harry (apologies for the unintended coincidence in the popular turn of phrase) being thought of as competent to experimentally observe this suspect consignment of admixed seed.

The obviously skewed thinking/reasoning of the Ministry Secretary under reference is no doubt the result of an absolute lack of appreciation of the grave dangers inherent in not taking cognizance of quarantine regulations governing the import of seed/planting material. In this context, this country could well be reminded of an entire coffee industry wiped out in a matter of years in the 1860s by the coffee leaf blight with the stake holders of that industry reportedly suffering a loss of over 17 million pound sterling at the time. Probably that was at a time when plant quarantine regulations might not have been very much in place. But we should certainly know better today.

The writer can also distinctly recall the similar illegal import of a consignment of fruit from the Mediterranean region by a powerful Cyril Gardiner in the late 1940s/early 50s, apparently for an ailing spouse. At that time with the Customs quarantine again very rightly refusing the release of this consignment of fruit, the buck was seen to get passed from one administrative mandarin to another, till it ultimately stopped at the level of the then Director of Agriculture, a Britisher by the name of Donald Rhind. And when the consignment was subjected to inspection, Mediterranean fruit fly infection was very much in evidence and the country saved from the deadly scourge of that pest.

Then the country was also to witness the introduction of the Cumingi coconut leaf beetle into its shores with the careless importation of orchid planting material packed in material having its source to the coconut trees of Thailand carrying the pest in that material. This list can be "ad infinitum" with lots of other deadly pest/disease/weed introductions both nationally and internationally as well and so making stringent plant quarantine measures a must and requiring equally stringent implementation.

So, the powers in this country ought to be more than alert to the dangers involved in this matter of illegal import of seed/planting material. Besides, isn't it time that this country realizes that no one can be above the law of the country without serious detriment to its polity.

Let the rules on cattle slaughter be known
It was a black day for pregnant cows, calves and buffaloes, when the previous regime revoked the law prohibiting their slaughter. As if they, too, had to prove their mettle by doing their bit for animal cruelty, the regime before them, had introduced the export (from this 'Buddhist' land) of flesh!

Animal lovers were up in arms, to no avail. Societies like the Anagarika Dharmapala Foundation that went in protest to the Minister concerned, were chased away with the query what else was there to do with aged cattle, except kill the lot? Besides, they wander aimlessly around, impeding especially the passage of the almighty politicians on the highway!

Now we hear that the efforts of those who did not give up have succeeded and the former prohibition has been reinstated. However it was only the other day we saw a newspaper report of a lorryload of about 20 cattle comprising almost half a dozen pregnant cows, many of them half-dead, being detected by the authorities. This means that the prohibition against the slaughter of pregnant cows, calves and buffaloes is simply being ignored.

May we urge the authorities responsible to publicize the reintroduction of the law, so that the police, sellers, buyers, robbers and abattoir owners are apprised of the fact and the police authorized to take action against the violators?

Civic-minded citizen treated like trash
On March 28 around 10 a.m. I was driving along Baseline Avenue, off Veluwana Place, Colombo 9. I had with me a small garbage bag full of waste paper.
On seeing a CMC worker with a cart I stopped my car and asked him whether he could collect the garbage bag. He refused. I pleaded with him and still he refused.

I did this as a good citizen of Colombo without dumping the garbage bag on the roadside as many others do. I thought it better to hand over the garbage bag to the CMC worker with a cart since if I keep it near a garbage collection point there is always a possibility that it may remain there for a while.
The CMC worker told me that they had been given instructions not to accept garbage bags from residents but only to collect the garbage on the roads. I think it's time to change this instruction.

Pot-holed road holds up transport
Villagers of Gantuna and Ambalakanda are in a quandary as the road which leads from Aranayake to Gantuna via Ambalakanda is in a bad state, full of potholes. Hence bus operators are unwilling to ply on it. As a result villagers undergo tremendous hardships as transport is now a major problem for them.

About 500 passengers travel on this road daily bringing their produce such as cloves, pepper and rubber for sale at Dippitiya town. Schoolchildren and teachers are unable to go to school as there is no proper bus service due to the terrible state of the road.

It is amazing that this road has not caught the attention of the 'Maga Neguma' Road Development Programme initiated by the President. It is disappointing for villagers that this village 'Ambalakanda' being the birthplace of a famous Provincial Council Minister of Sabaragamuwa province, is now so badly neglected.

Don’t forget them amidst the joy of festivities
The Sun
The unique symbol of equality
Shines alike on every being
Irrespective of race or religion
Its transfer from Pisces to Aries
Is considered an auspicious event
And celebrated worldwide
As a multi-racial, multi-religious festival,

Custom and tradition
Must go on unbroken
Even amidst war and disaster
Even on a low key,
The extended family gets together
Shares tasty meals together
Exchanges gifts, pays respect to elders,
In villages and towns
Different ethnic groups get together
Displaying unity in diversity
The greased pole rises high
Old sports come to the limelight,

Amidst New Year joy
We shouldn't forget tsunami victims
National Heroes and war heroes
Who sacrificed their lives
for a better tomorrow for others!
For them our tribute and tears!
May all ethic groups
Help one another and live in friendship!
May the April golden sun
Bring peace to my Motherland soon!

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