Colombo has recorded the highest number of accidents in 1996, nearly 25 percent of the country’s incidents, according to a report by the Colombo Traffic Police.
Nearly 22,500 accidents occurred in 1995 which took the lives of more than a 100 persons. Borella, and Cinnamon Gardens recorded the highest number of accidents and fatal accidents respectively.
SSP Traffic, Camillus Abeygoonawardene said that Mondays had become the most vulnerable day for drivers as a huge number of vehicles converge on Colombo after the weekend. “As a result the rate of accidents on Monday is higher than on any other day”, he said.
Unlike in foreign countries only four per cent of drivers below the age of 18 has been found at fault. But drivers between the age group 20-29 had committed the highest number of offences, according to the report.
It further said that buses were involved in many fatal accidents, whilst containers hardly meet with accidents. Nearly 70 percent of pedestrians were killed in fatal accidents the number of drivers killed in such accidents had been negligible.
Another unique feature highlighted in this report is that 94 percent of road users killed in accidents were more than 19 years old. “This is unique for Sri Lanka”, said Mr. Abeygoonawardene.
Mr. Anura Bandaranaike will represent the United National Party at a conference of the Pacific Democratic Union to be held in Canberra, Australia from December 5 to 9.
The Pacific Democratic Union is an association of centre right democratic political parties in Asia and the Pacific rim.
Mr. Bandaranaike will address this conference in Canberra on December 8. He will also call on Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
He will be accompanied by UNP Chairman Karu Jayasuriya.
The union is the regional body of the International Democratic Union which was established in 1983 by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on behalf of the British Conservative Party and President Ronald Reagan on behalf of the US Republican Party. Political parties from most of the leading democracies are members including the governing parties of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
A Buddhist prelate has warned of unthinkable consequences if political parties continue their course of putting party or personal gain before national interest.
The Ven. Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi Mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter sounded the warning when he met a delegation from Sri Lanka Buddha Handa group in Kandy.
The Mahanayake said the younger generation was getting addicted to all sorts of vices and a very few were drawn towards spiritual values.
He complained that the Buddha Sasana Ministry had undertaken to do much but little had been done to promote the values of the Dhamma.
The delegation also met the Ven. Palipane Sri Chandananda Thero of the Asgiriya Chapter who said the Sinhala people should unite in a manner that causes no harm to minorities. Both prelates said they were concerned about recent reports that some land belonging to the Digavapiya Chaitya had allegedly been taken over for other purposes.
The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at its monthly meeting on Thursday decided to open a commercial bank in Colombo.
Opposition leader Ananda Premasinghe moving the resolution requested Mayor K. Ganeshalingam to set apart Rs. 300 million from the next budget to set up the bank. This bank is to serve the banking needs of Colombo ratepayers and for CMC to borrow money in times of emergency. It will also save the huge sums of money paid to banks as interest for overdrafts taken by CMC.
The Mayor said that Rs. 1 million will be allocated in the 1997 budget to each member to attend to the common amenities of ratepayers. The Mayor allocated Rs. 500,000 to each member in 1996.
A vote of condolence was proposed by the Mayor on the death of President J.R. Jayewardene who served the CMC as a councillor representing New Bazzaar Ward in 1943 at the commencement of the meeting. Councillors from both sides touched on the social, cultural and economic reforms of the late President.
NSSP leader Dr. Wickremabahu Karunaratna said he sympathised with the 1980 strikers, the 38 strikers who committed suicide as they lost their jobs, and for the loss of the Jaffna library which was set on fire. He requested the Mayor to register his dissent.
Trooper W.M.A. Kumarasiri (23) previously stationed in Palaly, is a deserter who returned to the forces. His tale is a sad one. During one of his visits home, he had been pressured by his ailing mother to stay back away from the battlefield.
Not wanting to refuse her this last wish, he had reluctantly stayed home, for eight months, unable to find a job. It was finally during this amnesty that he had convinced his family of the necessity to go back .
Many soldiers face this problem. Going home after a long period of absence, they are persuaded by their family to remain and take hand in family affairs. Is this a choice they are allowed to freely decide upon? The turmoil in the heart of the soldier struggling between family and fighting for his country is unthinkable.
Despite international conventions on human rights stating that no person could be required to perform forced or compulsory labour, the Human Rights Task Force points out that the military is one exemption to the rule.
This is considered under both European and American Human Rights conventions. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further states that where the labour is required to preserve the peace and harmony of a community, then a person shall be required to perform his or her duty.
Director of the HRTF, Shirley Amarasekera told The Sunday Times that under the Sri Lankan Constitution, a person has the right to engage in any lawful profession, but this was subject to certain restrictions in the case of the armed forces and police as prescribed by law in the maintenance of their discipline.
With the General Amnesty period having ended yesterday, nearly 2800 deserters returned to their former regiments within the past month. Since June 1995 four more amnesty periods, each lasting between two to three weeks, were granted and about 10,000 deserters returned, according to military officials.
Brigadier Jayantha Ranaweera Director Personnel Administration told “The Sunday Times” that none would be punished or demoted from their ranks and would be welcomed with open arms.
The process code-named “Operation Desert Rat” has a long way to go, as over 10,000 deserters were still at large. “Starting tomorrow we will take measures to apprehend any deserters who have not returned, by rounding them up at their homes,” said Brigadier Ranaweera.
“We have already put up posters with names of deserters in every village with the assistance of Grama Niladharis, and sent letters to next of kin,” he said.
The Brigadier also explained that they had a good response from firms and offices, since they did not want to harbour deserters. The immigration control, security agencies, foreign employment centres and the airport authorities had been alerted.
“The main motive for wanting to get back deserters is because the Army spends nearly Rs. 60,000 in public funds per person on training. It is not fair for these individuals to go back and seek employment elsewhere,” he said.
In addition, according to the Brigadier, the army was looking to have at least an extra 25,000 personnel in its service in order to achieve their goal in the North and East.
Those who join the army need to complete twelve years service before they are discharged. However, one can apply for discharge, according to Soldier Service Regulations, before the period is completed for specific reasons.
The Brigadier revealed that there were only a few female deserters, and many more waiting to join the forces.
In the security of the Rockhouse Camp in Modera, several deserters await a training program to reacquaint them with weapon handling, life in the army and boost their morale.
Most of the deserters had extended their stay of leave and had been afraid to return to the army. However upon hearing favourable reports from their colleagues they had decided to go back.
A trooper who was scared of getting arrested after the amnesty period, revealed that he was in fact treated very well and was glad to have returned.
Another trooper K.K. Champika, 23 said that he deserted the army as his family had wanted him at home. “I took up carpentry and was doing pretty well, when the general amnesty was announced. I had to turn up here as there was hardly any other option left, though my mother did not want me to join the army again.”
Trooper E.A.M. Premawansa said that he was a farmer before he joined the army, and after deserting he was not able to find any job as he had only passed grade eight. “Besides the wide publicity given by the media, gave me a fright that they will round me up any moment. So I decided to come back,” he said.
Health Minister A.H.M. Fowzie yesterday warned government doctors that their pay will be cut if they do not sign the attendance register from today.
The GMOA defied the Health Ministry circular which required them to sign attendance registers from today, saying that it was not a practice even in the colonial days. Mr. Fowzie will plan out a strategy by the end of this month to deduct the pay for days on which doctors fail to sign.
“I have found that certain doctors have gone on leave for more than six months but been still getting their pay as there is no proper mechanism to monitor their attendance. This should be changed and doctors should adhere to a code of discipline,” he said.
Mr. Fowzie added that the present system allows a doctor to keep away from work by just informing another officer at the hospital over the phone, and sometimes, they are found at private practice as well.
GMOA President, Ananda Samarasekera told “The Sunday Times” that their nature of work is such that they cannot afford to waste time signing registers. They also rejected a speedier way to mark their attendance with a punch-card, as there might be occasions when they would have to attend to patients in a hurry.
However Mr. Fowzie said that signing a register would not take more than as minute and that if the doctors wanted to adhere to it they could easily do so.
With heavy rains in the northern province, thousands of displaced people in the jungles fear the spread of diseases.
The highly concentrated population, lack of water and sanitary facilities and heavy rains were ideal conditions for spread of diseases, an ICRC official said.
An effort by the ICRC to provide pure water through tube wells, has reached only a few thousands of people as it took 14- 21 days, to drill the rock hard mineral soil for the installation of hand pumps.
Open wells get highly polluted during rainy days as waste materials enter the water surface, and tube wells are the only means for pure water. The ICRC Water and Sanitation Manager John Fleming told the “Sunday Times” that over the past three months they were able to install only 10 hand- pumps in as many villages, in the Mullaitivu district across Mallavi. “This was due to the rigorous process of digging the wells manually”.
In ordinary circumstances, a hand pump could be installed within few hours.
The ICRC has a further 100 hand- pumps in stock, but await security clearance to install them.” It would be a slow process with few trained people working with us, even if the Defence Ministry gives clearance, Mr Fleming said.
The govt. has so far not taken measures to provide water and sanitation to the hundreds of thousands of people taking refuge in the jungles and schools, but has been mainly relying on NGOs to provide such facilities.
Mr Fleming said diseases like cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis, scabies and malaria might easily affect the people if prevention measures were not taken.
However, two 15,000 litre bladder tanks containing chlorinated water are being maintained by the ICRC, in the event of an epidemic at Mallawi and Akkaraiyan Hospitals.
The Defence Ministry has relaxed the ban on chlorine and certain other banned items , in view of the sufferings of the people. But the influx of more and more displaced people requires an integrated pure water supply, Mr Fleming said.
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