Letters to the Editor
View(s):It’s time to rectify the paltry pensions given to officers of Highways Dept.
This year pensioners were given a monthly increment of Rs 2,500 and the above retired officers are getting Rs 26,332 to Rs 32,500.
These individuals have contributed immensely to the development
of Sri Lanka in roads (including rural roads) and airport runways, throughout the country.
These officers had been co-authors of 15 papers and contributed to 10 papers of my 48 scientific and research papers, by carrying out laboratory testing and investigations of foundations of bridges and on the design of the reinstatements of road and railway embankments, due to landslides. It was the same case
with the investigations and designs of the Maldives Island runway, where two of the above officers assisted me in the investigations and the laboratory testing. Today I am the only one still living.
These officers also helped me to investigate and design some of the airport runways in the war zone for six years. A letter thanking me and our staff was received by the RDA from the SLAF.
The armed forces were given enhanced pensions for all war heroes (and those who continued after the end of the war). One of my carers (a nurse in the Navy), is getting a monthly pension of Rs. 56,000.
The lowest monthly salaries of Office Assistants of the Central Bank was less than Rs. 146,000 before it was increased by the Central Bank and later reduced by the Government. Top processionals, Doctors, Engineers etc in Government Service, will get this amount only after 25 to 30 years of service. The Government should have acted earlier to see that such injustices did not take place.
The officers of the Highways Dept, receive such paltry pensions in comparison and cannot live comfortably. They have to depend on their children for their existence.
I would like to propose that the Government increases their monthly pension to at least Rs 60,000.
I would also appeal to all party leaders in Sri Lanka to support these proposals when they are in the Opposition and follow through when they come to power.
Eng D.P. Mallawaratchie (Former GM, RDA)
Make May 18 a day of religious observances for all citizens
On May 18 or 19, a video on the social media showed Police officers keeping at bay a group of individuals near the beach performing a ritual which appeared to me as a Hindu puja, from a somewhat boisterous group waving a national flag on the road and asking the law enforcement officers why they are not allowed to celebrate when the LTTE is allowed to do so. One person of that group was carried to a Police vehicle and taken away.
Fifteen years after the end of the violent conflict between LTTE combatants and Government forces, there are sections of our society that want to celebrate what they term as ‘war victory’ and others who wish to commemorate the dead.
What is needed is to make this a day of religious observances and allow citizens to peacefully offer merit to the dead, on both sides of the line. They were all citizens of Sri Lanka and deserve respect as men and women who have sacrificed their lives.
The rights and wrongs of the conflict and the root causes should be left to the historians to dissect, but that should be done to avoid a repetition of the missteps. At any cost those blunders should not be allowed to recur, the forces that divide the nation on ethnic, religious or other differences should be controlled and the people should be made to realise the benefits of peace and reconciliation.
A short sermon two years ago by Ven Galkande Dhammananda, head of the Walpola Rahula Institute, available on YouTube, provides invaluable advice to all Sri Lankans on how to observe May 18, the day the violence ended 15 years ago.
Deva Rodrigo Rajagiriya
A murder of crows!
In the land of crows, where
wisdom takes flight,
A murder gathers, under day and night.
Seasoned veterans and fledglings alike,
In the shadows of morality, they strike.
Their island home, a diverse land,
With cultures varied, they take their stand.
Yet amidst the squawks
and raucous cries,
A darker truth beneath the skies.
Fledglings trained in the ancient lore,
Of scavenging and seeking more.
Released to join the elder ranks,
Their journey marked by cunning pranks.
Some soar high with noble aims,
While others succumb to selfish games.
Morals and ethics, a distant song,
As they feast on what they do wrong.
Time passes, and roles reverse,
Fledglings become elders, their lives traverse.
Some continue in their scavenger’s ways,
While others, in corruption, they graze.
A murder of crows, not just in name,
But in deeds that tarnish their
ancient fame.
Slandering, scheming, without remorse,
In a world where truth takes
a crooked course.
Yet amidst the darkness, some still shine,
Seeking virtue, like stars align.
For in every murder, there lies a choice,
To heed the call of wisdom’s voice.
So let us not judge by feather or beak,
But by the truth that we must seek.
For in the end, what truly shows,
Is the heart within a murder of crows.
Wazir Sourjah via email
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