|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 16 December 2004 |
 |
|
 |
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. Paddy cultivation in Maha-Iluppallama Dr. Neil Halpe's beautiful tribute to Earnest Abeyratne's labour, self - denial and dedication, in the cause of paddy cultivation in distant Maha-Iluppallama, must surely cause reflection in us. Somehow, successive Governments have lost their way in the glitter of globalisation and the end result is that 50 per cent of our population yet lives below the poverty line. Even the Buddha is said to have observed, that it was pointless preaching to an empty stomach. At long last there has now appeared a young Food Minister, who consciously or otherwise seems determined to resurrect Abeyratne's legacy. One can only hope and pray that his efforts are not thwarted by irrelevant concerns. SIDAT SRI NANDALOCHANA, Bambalapitiya The Death Sentence I believe that all peace loving citizens of Sri Lanka must be thankful to the President for bringing in the Death Penalty after the killing of the courageous late Mr Ambepitiya. The Human Rights Organisation (HRO) and Amnesty International (AI) is doing their best to have this removed. I do not understand what their thinking behind them is. Either the HRO and AI are in support of criminals or they don't know what their functions are. The HRO and AI should look at countries such as Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore where the Death Penalty has made the country a better place to live, making it impossible for underworld criminals, drug barons/peddlers, rapists to survive. The world is a better place to live without these criminals and wonder why the HRO/AI is allergic to the Death Penalty? Why won't HRO/AI focus on the innocent such as child prostitutes, child labour, vicitims of rape, school children being harrassed, punished and voice their concern? If the HRO/AI have a valid reason to the Death Penalty being banned, please let us know why? Meantime we wish to say that we are with the President in her attempt to introduce the Death Penalty and get rid of our country of crime. It's high time and the right time for this decision be taken. D. W., via email Trinity College William Sinnathamby Farm The Trinity College Farm has been officially declared the William Sinnathamby Farm in recognition of the prodigious inputs of the inspired teacher who dedicated his endeavours to making the college farm the model for the whole country. When Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike visited the farm in '72 as the country's Prime Minister at a time there was an acute shortage of food, she was impressed with the farm which had a perfect ecological balance. Mr. Sinnathamby adopted indigenous methods of food production. Manioc and sweet potato were his choice for a staple diet and the hundreds of visitors, some, his kith and kin from Batticaloa for the occasion which was also his centenary of birth were treated to Sinna's 'specials'. It was Mr. Sinnathamby who constructed concrete wells to provide 7,500 gallons of water daily. Diesel operated pumps were installed. Pipes carried water to all parts of the farm. grass was grown for the cattle on ten acres; maize and sorghum was grown for the pigs and poultry. No portion of land was kept untilled and there was a profusion of vegetables, fruit trees, coconut, pepper, plantains, coffee and of course, livestock. Mr. Sinnathamby introduced a bio-gas project which provided power to the farm. Students were taken beyond the periphery of farming and agriculture; they were taught plumbing, brick making and the use of agro machinery. It is small wonder, then, that Trinity has contributed in the largest measure 'tree doctors' in the planting sector. Mr. Sinnathamby who had joined the staff of Trinity in '52 as Alison House Master and Head of the Faculties of Physics and Botany was eager to start on his pet project as Farm Manager. That was on the new farm at Haragama which the Principal, Norman Walter had secured on a thirteen year lease. The land was fenced, pasture grass planted, fruit trees grown, cottages were built, cow sheds, poultry houses and pig sites erected. Success was immediate. Here was a farm which produced eggs, chicken, pork, milk, vegetables, fruits, cream, ghee, curd and butter. Batches of students were taken to the farm once a week for practical training in Agriculture. When the going was good, the school was, by a fell deed, called upon to return the land to the owners even before the expiry of the lease. That was in '65. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," and hope is never lost, particularly to a Christian school like Trinity. The very same year Trinity acquired the new farm at Balagolla. The soil was fertile and the Mahaweli swept past its boundary. Gordon Burrows said at the thanksgiving service for the new farm that, "Providence helps those who, with faith and inspiration, help themselves." When Sinna died in 1982 the farm died with him. After two decades of inaction the present leadership at Trinity, spearheaded by Mohan Samarakoon, are on to a 're-awakening project'. An ex-planter in Sajith Egodage who is dedicated to his mission has been placed in-charge as the Farm Manager. Project reports have been drawn up and activities are apace. This is poetic justice because it was Trinity which, as far back as 1908, recognised the importance of agriculture along with carpentry, printing, book making and binding. In the beginning the boys tended garden plots all over the school compound and every week were given two practical classes which consisted of digging, lining, holding and manuring. Immediately after Rev. McLeod Campbell became principal in 1925, a 25 acre block was taken possession of at Bahirawakande on a twenty year lease. The farm supplied milk not only to the school but also to the town. Papaw trees were grown for extracting papein for sale to Freudenbergs in Colombo. The vegetable beds were directly the responsibility of the students and cultivation was organised on a house basis. The then Governor of the country was so impressed with the progress of the farm that he presented two silver cups, one for the best house beds and the other for the best individual effort. The Young Farmers' Club was formed and played an important role in the development of the farm. The unfriendly soil and the shortage of water, however, were compelling reasons to move out even though the boys were provided with a base for worthwhile education in agriculture. And now at Balagolla and Pallakelle Trinity has 100 acres. The Trinity Agricultural Institute trains the youth to carry forward Sinna's vision: "With the spectre of unemployment looming over their heads, the youth of this country can find in the Trinity farm a sure way of helping themselves and their country. We are convinced that more and more 'Trinity Farms' will therefore be one way to solve not only the country's food problem but also its unemployment scourge." SHARM DE ALWIS, Kiribathgoda Regarding H.T's somewhat draconian proposals for expanding the tax base of the country, it seems unfair and indeed somewhat twisted to penalise vehicle owners, consumers of electricity, users of telephones, travellers abroad etc. In a progressive country, it seems somewhat questionable to be taxing those very fruits of progress and efficiency. A simple, elegant and equitable solution would be to make every wage-earner in both public and private sectors pay tax, do away with the duty-free and government-subsidised perks that most officials incur on the backs of the tax-paying public. That way, there would be no requirement to carry out extensive investigations and incur additional costs to count how many lightbulbs does person-X have in their home, how many phone calls did so-and-so make etc. It's a futile, wasteful exercise and highly susceptible to abuse. I cannot see why the greater population of the public service should live off the backs of the tax-paying private sector. If both segments of the working population paid their fair share, as they do in many countries - there would be much more to go around. Of course, any government that had the temerity to propose such a thing would immediately collapse. S. D. , Bambalapitiya Punish vandals Recently there were clashes between police and protesters who objectedto the 'Temptation' show featuring Shah rukh Khan. TV news clips clearly showed pictures of protesters throwing stones and damaging a vehicle showroom in the midst of clashes. The police should use these video clips to identify the vandals by publicly showing it and offering a reward for those who provide information about the identity of the vandals. I am sure at least a neighbour of the culprits would provide the information. As in Singapore maximum punishment should be given for vandalism. K. G. E., Nugegoda |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
