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| Thursday, 16 September 2004 |
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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. Contents in used plastic bottles turn cancer-prone I have read and heard on the print and electronic media that it is injurious to health to use plastic bottles over and over again to store or carry drinking water etc. Once plastic bottles have been used for the first time after manufacture, these should be discarded or thrown away. Plastic bottles hold good only for the first use after manufacture. When using for the second time onwards, certain chemicals emanating from the plastic contaminate the contents in the used plastic bottle and that contamination is cancer-prone. A doubt arises in my mind on this research. If plastic is bad, it should be bad from the time it is manufactured. Hence, contamination should take place even on the first use. A doubt also arises in my mind as to the safety of soft drinks in plastic bottles. I know of a friend who went to Saudi Arabia lost both his kidneys by drinking Coke instead of water. I have to pass the same judgement on the popular mineral waters in plastic bottles. This talk of first time use is safe, may be a marketing gimmick or trick in order to protect the massive international plastic industry, soft drink and mineral water industries. Anyway, our national research bodies and the Government should take quick action to carry out our own research and not go by hearsay market-oriented researches. We should take a lesson from the false propaganda that was carried on by the West that coconut oil contains harmful cholesterol in order to market their vegetable oils, whereas in reality coconut oil is a tasety, cholesterol free cooking oil. Even if the same oil is used to fry over and over again, it still remains harmless. In the same strain, the recent past islandwide campaign to market iodized table salt is also a marketing gimmick in order to take away the salt marketing from the common man. Thus the common man lost a very viable self-employment avenue. Viable self-employments are getting very scarce in this country. When iodized salt is added to hot meals under cooking, iodine in the salt is burnt out and rendered effect less. I am subject to correction by the experts. RANJITH DODAMPEGAMA CWC led by Mr. Arumugam Thondaman deserves our praises and plaudits for the magnanimous and magnificent action taken by the leader. Of course, we feel that he had taken the right step with the right foresightedness in supporting the Government. Any right thinking person would support the Government in a period of crisis like this, thinking of the welfare of the country at heart. Of course, we want a stable Government and it is only then, constructive action would be taken to solve the varied problems of the country. We anticipate that others too, would follow suit joining hands and strengthening the hands of the efficient Head of State. S. SABA SUBRAMANIAM Liquidation of Pramuka Bank Bold headlines in your issue of September 1, reads, CBSL seeks Court order for liquidation of Pramuka Bank. Does it mean that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has jumped the gun, or put the cart before the horse, in order to achieve its one apparent object of not permitting the restructuring of Pramuka Bank, proposed by a powerful consortium? One recalls reading a press report elsewhere of the staff of Pramuka, who presumably, assisted the CBSL all this while, was seeking legal remedy when the latter were offered only four days' pay for the month of August, 2004. Meanwhile, the CBSL seems to have even appointed the liquidator on their own. From the various reports on the matter, that has received more than adequate press publicity from time to time, one would have gathered that the CBSL had committed a series of blunders, starting from listing Pramuka as one of the viable local banks, hardly a month before its suspension by the CBSL itself. That would have attracted more depositors, who were naturally inclined to earn a higher interest rate on their investments, apart from the assurance to other stake-holders. There was, at one stage, even a suggestion that the entire episode was a personal vendetta between two parties and another that it was an attempt to cover up certain lapses of the CBSL itself. Of course, the CBSL has had its excuses - whether acceptable or not - as well as the explanations of Pramuka Bank. However, as the story goes, even the thief who had ascended his neighbour's coconut tree to steal nuts, had the excuse, when questioned by the owner, that he went up there to cut grass for his cow. When asked what grass there was up a coconut tree, he still had the excuse that he was descending because there was non! ANTON FERNANDO Why can't the transport ministry implement the law? Bus fares have been increased once again. This time CTB too has increased the fares by 9 per cent to fall in line with the private sector fares. Commuters will have to tolerate all these increases whether they like it or not what the commuters cannot tolerate is the private sector buses not issuing a valid ticket to the commuters covering the exact fare up to now. This has been there from the very inception with the exception of a few who used to issue an invalid ticket. When they do not issue a valid ticket to the commuters, it is a saving for them and their profit margin will be increased. Why can't the Transport Ministry implement the law? Is it not a punishable offence under the law not to issue tickets to the commuters? I hope the Ministry will take a serious view of this lapse. Law and order must be implemented at any cost! D. E. ABEYWEERA FUTA's allegations against the UGC I write in my individual capacity as a member of the University Grants Commission to state that the Federation of University Teachers' Associations appear to have misrepresented several facts in alleging that the UGC has breached agreements with FUTA September 9, 2004. 1. FUTA claims to be safeguarding academic standards but it has always argued for lowered standards for the professorship and stood by as several of its members made false claims to apply for and get professorships. Several cases before the courts will demonstrate this. Almost every meeting of the UGC and its Management Committee sees appeals from FUTA members asking for exemptions from normal hiring rules. When they are told no, they lobby. In the matter of the academic support staff, FUTA's members have always been happy to give them their own work and ask them to lecture in their place while they lounged at home. But they are objecting only when the UGC decided to pay the support staff according to the work they do by recognising its importance. 2. It is untrue to represent as FUTA has done that all lecturers have a first class or second (lower) degree. There are many members of FUTA who have ordinary pass or general degrees and have come up through late career development just like the support staff whose late development through higher degrees we have recognised through Circular 842. And this is rightly so. 3. It is misleading to say that the UGC merely converted support staff to lecturers. On the contrary, the UGC provided for such conversion only when support staff members with service experience obtain carefully specified postgraduate qualifications. Some of them have doctorates and seminal publications whereas many of FUTA's Senior lecturers, Professors and Vice Chancellors do not. Are we to keep such support staff permanently in positions subservient to less accomplished FUTA members? Circular 842 merely recognises that some people continue to grow as scholars and provides for their services to be used effectively when they demonstrate continuing intellectual growth. To me, such a person with intellectual curiosity and determination is far better than a first class holder from several years ago who has done nothing since. 4. It is untrue for FUTA to state that there has been an agreement with the UGC to suspend the circular consequent to the UGC's realising its blunder. The reality is that implementation was temporarily suspended as a courtesy to let those who disagreed make their objections. The Commission, having listened to opposing views and having satisfied itself that the Circular is generally right and ought to be implemented has decided to do so immediately for those qualified persons who applied for their conversion. Our legal advisors have concurred with us in this. The support staff problem has been simmering for long. Several high powered committees have made recommendations as implemented under Circular 842. These recommendations were never allowed to be implemented previously because of academic jealousy and territory marking. Most disappointingly, when the 30% allowance paid to academic staff was proposed to support staff as a solution, FUTA objected. A legal initiative was settled by a previous UGC agreeing and recording before the Supreme Court to recommend the increase to the Treasury. But alas, once the case was withdrawn by the support staff, a recommendation was made to the Treasury discouraging approval. It is only in Sri Lanka that one can get away with such Contempt of Court by mere virtue of high office. Such is the treachery behind the present predicament of the support staff. Furthermore, special schemes similar to the provisions of Circular 842 have been implemented for Agriculture Field Assistants and performing artistes from 1975 until recently and FUTA never objected; perhaps because no power relationship was threatened by field assistants who had been working on farms, and dancers, drummers and other musicians who were distant from our world and confined to fine arts institutions. It was in consideration of these that the UGC designed Circular 842 and gave life to it. FUTA is a union asking not only for a big piece of the cake for its members but also insisting that it at least ought to be bigger than others. As someone aptly remarked, when people cannot be rich in these bad times, they at least want to be richer. Accordingly while FUTA is satisfied with the present pay-hike proposals, its concerns now are for being paid more than Registrars! For a union with mundane concerns, that is fair. We all want more. Fighting for a higher status is I suppose a genetic survival imperative. But a union should not make grandiose claims about being for high academic standards when their main concern is to be on top of those whom they have lorded it over up to now. Some even go so far as to say that FUTA's real hang-up is that the promoted support staff might aspire to be Deans. And I ask, why not if they have the qualifications and the support and confidence of the academics to be elected? PROF. S. RATNAJEEVAN H. HOOLE Since numerous telephone calls, letters to the press and so on have been completely ignored by S.L.B.C as regards changing the times of the B.B.C programme which has brought a lot of money - we might as well forget about more appeals. After all by this, we now realise there are many more other channels that also give us good music - although it was that we had just got accustomed to that particular channel. Quoting from the film 'My Fair Lady' with that hit 'I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face - I now say I've got accustomed to "NOT" switching on to, commercial service any more. In a way we should thank that B.B.C programme because that has paved our way to newer and better channels. Let's sum it all up by saying who cares? There's music elsewhere. 'Sour sour grapes' YVONNE F. KEERTHISINGHA Divisional Secretaries A lot of letters have appeared in the press finding fault with the Divisional Secretaries and their staff for not attending to the payment of pension arrears on time. This is an exercise which is bound to take time and pleasing everybody at the same time would be a difficult task. While this situation is so, it is also wrong on our part not to publicly thank those officers who are doing a good job of work in regard to the payment of pension arrears. I refer to the Divisional Secretariats at Panadura and Moratuwa where this matter is being fairly efficiently handled. Apart from the clerical officers who actually handle the work, praise is especially due to the Accountants who supervise this work. V. K. WIJERATNE [PoetryCorner]Of stars 'Twinkle Twinkle little star... How I wonder what you are' So do stars shine high in the sky Stars - blue or red gives the student Much a better fillip than any chocolate Stars there are for the soldier desolate Promoting him, reducing much pall The maiden looks to her stars on her journey of life Expecting good cheer, fortune as a wife The U.S. Sheriff displays his star of profession and rank The bandits feared as they fled the bank The lovelorn lad looked into the starry eyes Of his beloved as she gazed into his yearning eyes The stage was all set for the glamour of the night As the stars of the Silver screen made their debut As people face sudden mishaps or losses They are likely to see stars of unknown proportion. NEETHA S. RATNAPALA |
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