|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 24 July 2002 |
 |
|
 |
Letters | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Sports Obituaries
|
Please forward your letters to editor@dailynews.lk in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Number bus halts for easy location It is difficult to identify the exact bus stop one should alight to reach the address. The chances are even worse, when one happens to keep standing inside a crowded bus. Even those who visit for the second and subsequent times, too encounter this difficulty. Some within the city limits too have one time or other experienced this difficulty when they go out of their region. With a view to overcome this problem, may I suggest that we number each and every bus halt. All bus halts along one side of the road from Colombo Fort towards Galle, be evenly numbered and all such halts on the opposite side of the road, from Colombo Fort towards Galle be marked with odd numbers. Such numbers should be very distinctly and boldly painted, preferably with radium paints, on both sides of the bus-halt-posts. So when directing someone to reach a specified location, he could be asked to alight at such-and-such numbered bus halt. This would certainly overcome the difficulty now encountered by so many who by pass the exact buss halt many a time, and walk back a long way. Even business firms could indicate in their local letterheads, visiting cards and name boards etc., the bus halts nearer to them. viz: Halt No. 37, or in-between Halt Nos.37/39 or in-between Halt Nos. 35/37 etc. where their prospective customers could reach them exactly. A. S. Fernando- Negombo.
Overtaking is a decision between life and death on our highways. When traffic movement is blocked and slow down by slow moving vehicles such as lorries and trucks with containers even for well-disciplined drivers have to risk their lives to overtake the slow traffic. Otherwise, they will never be able to overtake slow moving vehicles. In some developed and developing countries, in two-lane highways, there are passing lanes in regular intervals to over come this problem. Drivers wait for passing lanes to overtake slow traffic all the time. I think even in our highways, it is not difficult to construct passing lanes wherever possible. State owned lands, paddy fields and lands without houses beside highways could be used for this purposes after paying compensation at market price. Probably the main cost component will be the compensation for the lands to be acquired. By avoiding construction of big bridges and large concrete structures, the cost can be minimized. Also, by using local companies and/or universities for feasibility studies, design and project implementation, foreign cost component can be minimized. SARATH, via e-mail
Apparently the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (M/A.L.D) has made a proposal to issue the farmers with firearms to protect their crops from the depredations of wild animals. At a time when the society is riding on the crest of a crime wave, this looks a very unwise move. One is constrained to question the wisdom of it; whether it would not amount to adding fuel to a fire of criminal activity sweeping the country through. The threat this proposal poses to our wild life specially those endangered species like the elephants etc. should be the concern of not only the environmentalists and nature lovers but also the authorities concerned with the protection of wildlife and law enforcement. If this proposal is acted upon it would definitely hasten the extinction of our wild elephants not to mention the other endangered species, sooner than expected. The cultivators even without legal firearms are reported to be killing so many wild elephants every year. During the last decade 1230 wild elephants are said to have been thus killed. Perhaps the M/A.L.D. wants to legalise the process and be done away with it. Crop losses suffered by farmers here and there from the wild animals, cannot be considered a serious argument for arming them with rifles. Elephants and wild animals do not roam all over the country. They are normally confined to jungle areas but when the man encroaches upon and carries his activities into its domain or near forest reserves or corridors set apart for their unimpeded passage. confrontations do take place sometimes. The remedy is therefore not to encroach or go near the territory reserved for the animals of the wild. Further those crop losses due to damages caused by wild animals must be comparatively very small to warrant arming the farming community to liquidate our wildlife. It is true that one hears of such damages now and then but they are few and isolated instances, not so much of a serious problem. Surely one cannot believe that our food security is affected in anyway due to these occasional crop damages caused by wild beasts. Therefore let the M/A.L.D. think of some other means of tackling this problem without recourse to the easy solution of giving licences to kill. The Ministry can for instance initiate deterrent action against encroachers on forest reserves and jungle corridors. Laws are there already in this regard but rarely enforces. I do not think that the Ministry has evicted a single encroacher all these years. Instead encroachers are regularised and granted deeds entitling them to various benefits. No wonder that the forest reserves are being regularly encroached, sometimes at the behest of scheming politicians aiming at the valuable timber on these lands. I hope that the authorities concerned would drop this proposal without further ado. If implemented it would apart from decimating our wildlife, also add to the violence that is spreading in the society like a malignant cancer. The remedy will then prove to be worse than the disease. P. G. A. HENRY , Matara
Cellular phone nuisance inside cinema Going to see a movie is one of the low cost entertainments people enjoy in our country. At present, even with minimum facilities they like to visit film halls and enjoy the fascination of the big screen. But it's unfortunate that some individuals use their cellular phones inside the hall when the movie is going on. The audience gets disturbed in three ways by this selfish use of cellular phones. They are: 1) The sound of the rings; 2) The powerful light of the display units; 3) The voice of the user (Some people even talk as if they are leisurely at home). As a regular viewer of films I found it very annoying to be disturbed by the cellular phones. At a time when the government is making a tremendous effort to develop the film industry, the people whose joy is disturbed by such events will definitely have a bad effect on the attraction of people towards the cinema. Since some cellular users (not all) are not aware of other people's right to enjoy the film without any disturbance, I propose that an announcement or an advertisement should be shown at the beginning of the film saying "Please switch off your cellular phones " or "Do not use cellular phones inside the auditorium" or any other suitable message to prevent it. If it is necessary , even a fine can be introduced. SAGARA TENNAKOON , Kandy
Kandy and its congested town has been the subject of many a letter to the press. But nothing of note and impact seems to have occurred excepting the recent opening of Dalada Veediya, thanks to the joint efforts of the Minister of Central Region Development and the new Mayor of Kandy. As new Municipal councillors have taken their oaths recently with a young and energetic Mayor, it would be appropriate to see where and how improvements could be effected by them to improve the lot of shoppers, pedestrians and motorists in Kandy. The earlier closure of Dalada Veediya created acute traffic congestion and diversions in town. Although the gates have now been opened the job is incomplete. As the road belongs to the Municipality, the high fence should be re-located on the Mahamaluwa side releasing the road to Municipal control so that road users can reasonably expect the road to always remain open. Besides when driving along Dalada Veediya by the Mahamaluwa one does not want to feel as though one was driving through some one else's land when it really belongs to the Municipality. The iron spiked barriers should also be removed out of sight. Long term, as the lake bund and parapet wall are reported to be weak and in need of reconstruction, shouldn't the authorities take advantage of this situation and widen the road into the lake by the side of Queens hotel and leading up to Malabar street and the sluice end on either side. This will help to ease the restrictions in this section of road. The traffic lights in Kandy town were installed with a lot of fan fare and expense, but they have not been functioning for the past six months or more. No one seems to care! To relieve the congestion in the narrow streets couldn't parking and the use of heavy vehicles, and lorries and vans, loading and unloading be banned within the town limit between 6 am to 6 pm. These operations to be confined to 6 pm to 6 am. We are told work has commenced on a new storied car park. This will certainly be a facility looked forward to by the motorists and shoppers. Couldn't portions of the railway line between the Police station and the Mosque be selectively built up in concrete columns and slabs to be used for parking? allowing the train to pass underneath the slab. A similar operation could also be done over the Meda ela by the side of Gopallawa mawatha in anticipation of the opening of the new courts complex. If the columns and slabs are built strong to take the weight of buses, it could be used for parking the long distance buses which are now parked on either side of this road. While these developments are in progress it is suggested the by roads in the suburbs leading to Kandy be widened so that heavy vehicular traffic such as buses, lorries and containers could be diverted to use them instead of motoring through town. Obviously heavy funding will be required for the development of Kandy. It is suggested that the Mayor and the Chief Minister of the Central Provincial Council should take the initiative and tap foreign embassies for this without waiting for the Central Government to find funds. As the pavements are also narrow, preference should be given to pedestrians and shoppers to use them without having to share them with the vendors of garments and textiles, particularly at the lower end of Dalada Veediya. Last but not least the Bogambara prison should be re located out of town, thereby releasing this very valuable land for town development. Finally whilst congratulating the new Mayor on his election to this high office, we look forward to a strong disciplined administration to improve and beautify the city. We are confidant he an deliver. Ananda Pilimatalawuwe , Pilimatalawa. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
