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| Monday, 26 August 2002 |
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Letters | |
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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.
I refer to a report from The Parliament, on page twenty of the Daily News of 16th August 2002, under the above title. Para two, says that in reply to a question, the Minister of Sports, had said that the President tried put her uncle into the Cricket Board. This is a completely false statement. I was brought into the battle, "A battle stand, by leading cricketers and clubs. She knew about it only on the morning of the press conference at the house of Upali Dharmadasa. At the breakfast table I mentioned to her that I was contesting and she was against it. All I asked her was to speak to a few of her Ministers who were supporting the other side and she refused. I fought the battle by myself, supported by the leading cricketers and clubs. C. S. RATWATTE, Balangoda The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is reported as having said that in consideration of the sad plight of millions of people in Southern Africa who are affected by widespread famine there should not be unwanted festivities. What he would have meant was that world communities should refrain from extravagant enjoyment when human lives in another part of the world are suffering without food and water but rather help them in any way possible. These words have a bearing on this country too where people in the Hambantota and Moneragala districts are suffering from the effects of several successive rainless seasons resulting in drying up of irrigation tanks and failure of their paddy crops. These districts especially Hambantota are developed agricultural areas where yields of 90-100 bushels of paddy per acre are not uncommon. It is no wonder when rains fail for several seasons in succession a state of famine results. Most areas have no potable water, not to speak of food and some are said to living on leaves. The elite in the cities may not realize this situation and as a humanitarian act visit those areas and see things for themselves. The principal tenet of every religion is help the needy. I. P. NANAYAKKARA, Kalutara I am writing these comments as a citizen who is not aligned to any political party. Let us take an impartial and fair view where this country and we as its citizens are heading in the backdrop of our current political culture. The vast majority of this country opted for a change of administration democratically at the last general election. Why? It is obvious the public was not satisfied with the performance of the previous regime. The people felt that after seven years of governance, that the leaders have not delivered the goods. Now the change has been made and the new regime has taken the reins. Any intelligent, impartial person who looks at the path this government has taken within this short space of seven months in power will agree that they have taken some bold, solid initial steps which may bring about effective changes for good in time to come. Taking the dismal position of our current economy into consideration it is very unreasonable for anyone to expect major economic relief measures overnight. Nobody can do that even if they have one hundred percent representation in Parliament. Now that the majority of the people have made the change they wanted, should not we give this Government a reasonable period of time and be observant before we pass judgement against them. To make an effective impact on the economy it has to be put on the right track, and once it has fallen on that path it has to run smoothly for a period of time for us to see the fruits. Once it is on a sound footing, prosperity is bound to come and even law and order situation will fall in line. What all of us need very badly right now is some patience. Let us now take a look at how the international community is looking at us at this juncture. With the change of administration almost all the powerful nations of the world have pledged their full cooperation in every possible way to help us. We have never got so much backing from the international community since independence. President George Bush the most powerful politician in the world has told our Prime Minister he will be behind him. President Bush is taking a personal interest and he has already taken some practical steps in this regard. Does not it show that we have a formidable arm pushing us? It not that encouraging? The atmosphere is very conducive and we must now make the best use of it without causing annoyance. There are some groups who are talking about a division of the country. If they think there is a division that had been there for several years and nothing new. Probably that division was concealed from the public view in the past. Now that the people have access to see what actually is happening naturally the tendency is more for wider comments. We have seen that the previous governments soiled with human sacrifice for about twenty years to have a military solution to the North-East conflict. Did they succeed? Failed miserably. Then should not we think of other options at least now? If we are going to ask for a change of government again so soon without giving a sufficient period of time for the change we have already made where are we going next? If we do change, is it not very clearly and boldly written on the wall that we are passing the ball back to the same team who played the game for the past seven years? Did they deliver the goods? How is their report card? Was the country in a better position than in 1994 when they took office and when they were voted out in 2001? The intelligent public who understand facts must explain those who are unable to grasp the correct situation or got misled to accept the reality. There exist some bankrupt political groups who want only to make destructive criticism from day one whatever party that is in power. They know well that they have no other way of remaining under the spot light. Do not get carried away by the high-pictured slogans they shout to disrupt anything and everything. If what somebody does is wrong then what is right? Have they got any alternative solutions to offer? I humbly plead with those asking for a change of government so soon to think again if they love this country, where are we heading next? DON ABEYARATNE, Kottawa The KACPAW Organization (Kandy Association for Community Protection through Animal Protection) has got a new home at Udaperadeniya. The University - Veterinary Department, gave the land. After clearing and fencing it we managed to construct some kennels, thanks to contributions by local and foreign animal lovers and associations. This cost us over a million rupees. We are happy to state that we have saved the lives of almost 1000 animals since our inception, found kind homes for almost eight to nine hundred dogs in all parts of the Island. These dogs were abandoned animals, thrown on the roads by cruel people. All these dogs would have been killed at the dog pound. If animal lovers contribute another Million Rupees we could construct more shelters and would be able to accommodate all the animals that are eliminated in the Kandy Dog Pound at Gohagoda. At the moment there are seventy five dogs in the home and the place is over crowded. While we run vaccination and sterilization clinics to control rabies - we believe the only way we can eliminate rabies is not by killing of these dogs that has been going on for almost the last 50 years, but through our program. At the Kandy Hospital itself millions of rupees is spent on giving anti-rabies injections to human beings, besides the money spent on eliminating the animals. So, I strongly recommend to the Government, specially as this is a Buddhist country, that this senseless killing of dogs should be stopped and mass anti-rabies and sterilization clinics should be conducted throughout the whole island. I am sure this will give results in eliminating rabies in the island in a few years. DR. C. GODAMUNNE, Member - KACPAW. The Grand Finale of the 14th Asian Athletic Championships was held with much pomp and gaiety at the re-modified Sugathadasa Stadium in the midst of a massive crowd of Sports Lovers who had arrived from the early hours of the morning from all parts of the island, with the hope of catching a glimpse of the spectacular Laser and Fireworks Display that enthralled the crowds on the opening day, when it was announced that the Laser Lights and Fireworks Display will be continued even on the final day. But, sadly this was not to be and what a great disappointment to all those who had gathered. The crowds were nevertheless kept going by the lively performances of the schools and armed forces bands. They, along with the cultural displays contributed immensely towards making the Championships a memorable event. Minister of Sports, Johnstone Fernando deserves a big pat on his back for a job, well done. MOHAMED NALIM, Colombo 9 Stop unfair three-wheeler fares The other popular mode of transport in the country, after train and bus, is the ubiquitous Three-Wheeler. There is no doubt that it renders a useful service to the community far and wide. However, there are no fixed rates on fares and the commuters are very often charged unreasonably. The National Transport Commission should look into this problem and formulate some guidelines with regards to fares that should be abided by the operators. GOONETILLEKE, Polgasowita. One need not write about the traffic congestion in the city of Colombo, very specially in the mornings and evenings on weekdays, since every one experiences the consequences. Roads are as they are, but vehicles increase rapidly. The authorities have done their best to ease the congestion yet it creates problems. Alternative roads and by roads are constructed but an important one like the Marine Drive, that could be of great consolation to the motorists of Galle Road, has not been completed or rather abandoned due to reasons not published by the authorities. Last week when I was travelling by train I saw the construction of the road appearing interrupted at certain points. This new road has been macadamized in some places and this shows that the necessity has been felt by the authorities but that they could not proceed. The reasons could obviously be, as I saw, the houses that stand like ruins for which legal requirements have to be sought for the acquisition of such lands. But the question is whether this project could be left as it is having spent millions of rupees simply because of a few houses? The old railway quarters at Wellawatte too seem to be a hindrance for this useful but incomplete stretch of road. Whose houses are they? Are actions filed against them? If so, when will those cases be over? Cannot priority be given for such cases for the good of all concerned? If all other constructions that stood on the way could be removed for destroyed why a couple of constructions not treated in the same manner? Are those connected to powerful politicians? Why do our state machineries sometimes work slow without finishing a place of work important such as this as soon as possible without realizing the urgent necessity of it? It is still not too late for the authorities to rise up and finish the construction work of this useful road without further delay. Politicians of UNF and PA representing these electorates should focus their sincere attention to this as to a national issue and win the applause of the people. Let not any beneficial project initiated be allowed to be stopped half way. NAZLY CASSIM, Colombo 1 Panadura bus accident: an eye opener "It was a shock to read the news report titled "Ten Dead, 25 injured in Panadura bus accident". (DN Aug 19) Assuming that the report is correct the fact that the driver of the Colombo bound bus who is responsible for this tragedy killing innocent people workers who were on their way to Kataragama had no driving license brings to my mind that the responsibility goes beyond the driver to the owner of the bus who had employed this bus driver. Earning money would have been the objective of this sheer negligence. Authorities concerned should really take note of this and prepare a code of ethics to control this type of tragic situations without waiting for the next accident by another careless driver at some other place. The usual attitude of making a huge outcry and simply forgetting the issue until the next incident happens in a bigger way which is typical in Sri Lanka should not be the case as innocent lives are at stake. This is merely an eye opener for all authorities who are responsible." C. J. WIJESINGHE, Nugegoda |
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