• Don't touch the clock

• More accessible public service

• Sanitary facilities at the Fort Railway Station

• Noise pollution in Wellawatte

• Housing for estate workers

Don't touch the clock

I have followed with interest the current debate on readjusting Sri Lanka standard time to what it was before May 1996. It is a sign of our mature democracy that such proposals can be discussed widely before a final decision is made. I would like to offer my thoughts to help the Government reach a rational decision.

As we can recall, the clock was adjusted in 1996 during a major electricity shortage, as a measure of daylight saving. A decade later, Sri Lanka is still struggling to meet the growing energy demands, and spending vast amounts on imported oil that generates more than half of our electricity supply.

I understand from the CEB's published data that the electricity use load in the evenings is considerably more than that in the mornings. So if we put the clock back by half an hour as proposed, dusk will fall sooner and households will be consuming more electricity for lighting. Both the country's generation costs and individual electricity bills could go up as a result.

I do share the concern that the prevailing time requires some children to leave home for schools fairly early - sometimes while it is still dark. The best solution for this is to start school sessions later. (In neighbouring India, for example, most schools start at 9.30 or 10 a.m.) Let's not forget that the current standard time allows an extra half hour of daylight in the evenings for adults to get back home and for children to play.

Beyond these very valid local concerns, I would like to draw attention to macro level implications of changing Sri Lanka's standard time again. We standardise time because we need to deal with others. In the 19th century, for example, every little town in the US had its own time: the impossibility of running trains under this scheme gave rise to standard time.

In today's rapidly globalising world, Sri Lanka cannot afford to keep changing a fundamental attribute like standard time every few years. Such a move could harm the perception of foreign investors, international banks, airlines and tourists - at a time when we are trying to attract them all.

There are sound reasons for maintaining our standard time as GMT+6 hours. The earlier time (GMT+5.30) caused considerable confusion to those based outside Sri Lanka. Going back to that time can inconvenience over a million Sri Lankans now living and working overseas, whose remittances are vital to our economy.

Sri Lankan companies competing for outsourced data processing and other business opportunities in the global knowledge economy have an advantage with the current standard time. Indeed, most countries now have a full hour's difference with GMT. (I have been telling every Indian VIP I meet that they should get rid of their half-hour difference!).

Older Sri Lankans can probably recall the consternation caused in the 1960s when we changed our weekend to follow the lunar calendar. It took years to recover from that misstep. I sincerely hope that wiser counsel would prevail on this occasion.

Vidya Jyothi Sir Arthur C. Clarke

More accessible public service

Any public institution is expected to serve the public. Any public institution is manned by the staff. To serve effectively the institution must be accessible and be open to the public for as many days in the year as is possible. There are certain sections of the public service that function non-stop all 24 hours and throughout the year. The examples include the health sector, telecommunication, media (both printed and electronic) and so on.

There is a raging controversy as to the excessive holidays and non-functioning of the Public Institutions for more than 1/3rd of the year mainly due to the statutory weekends (104 days) and public holidays.

Holidays are meant for the staff and not the institution. The institutions are meant to serve the public and not the employees. The employees must also have their holidays and off days to recuperate and be fit to work, leave alone the need to satisfy their own needs.

The employees' need appear to far outweigh the public's need to have the institution open on as many days of the year as is possible. To reconcile the seemingly contradictory position, it is necessary to devise ways and means of keeping the institution open to serve the people.

How do we do it? There may be many ways but let us see at least one of them. Do we need to deprive the employees of their hard won privileges? It could be partly resolved if the staff or the employees' personal leave entitlements are enhanced but the institutions are kept open to serve the public without closing them.

The institutions could be closed for a day in a week but the total number of non-working days lost or a substantial portion of it be added on as personal entitlement to the staff with the proviso that they should avail of an agreed portion compulsorily and have the balance accumulated to avail of when they wish e.g. to be with the new born babies, or for studies, or for foreign trips, or be encashed as they wish.

What is required is that the institution need not be kept closed to satisfy the employees' need for off days. Institutions can be managed by the staff working on shift. An impediment may be what is referred to as the tyranny of the subject clerk.

Automated financial institutions are accessible all 24 hours, all 365 days. Why can't the other institutions be accessible for at least 300 days a year utilizing the excessive staff more judiciously and equitably? As it is most of the institutions appear to work within closed doors on most of the holidays. May be they find it difficult to cope with the mounting chores.

Public institutions must live up to their name and be accessible to the public for the major part of the year as is feasible if not for the whole year. At any cost they must not be kept closed to be in tandem with the leave or holiday requirements of the employees. What is required is prioritization.

R. SUNTHARALINGAM - Urumpirai West

Sanitary facilities at the Fort Railway Station

The commuters are in trouble at the Railway Station Fort, Colombo because they have to buy tickets to use the latrines at the station.

The tickets issuing person re-use the issued tickets and collect money. The commuters leave the tickets after using the latrines. Thereby these persons are earning money. If a person has no 5 Rupees cash in hand what shall he do.

The most need human facilities like this, should be given free of charge. These latrines are used only by the commuters and not the outsiders. They are coming from various parts of the country. They are in trouble when they want to answer their call of nature. This facility should be obtained without involvement of a third party.

Therefore I suggest to the authorities to abolish this charging system at the Railway Station by outsiders, and instead of this, Railway can give employment for some other people to clean the latrines under supervision of authorities.

In future the commuters will have to pay for the use of the toilets in the long distance trains too.

P. L. Somasiri - Galle

Noise pollution in Wellawatte

Apropos the letter by Quintus de Silva on 'Screaming ice creams' in Wellawatte there are two supermarkets on either side of the Galle Road near Moor Road junction.

Very often they play high pitched music much to the annoyance of the pedestrians, other users of the road and neighbours.

This affects all those who use the road and who have some business in the area. Recently I read that the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Colombo Municipality stating that he will prosecute those causing noise pollution.

Perhaps he was not aware of this situation.

I trust that this will catch his attention and he will do something to stop this nuisance.

V. REGUNATHAN - Wellawatta

Housing for estate workers

The present Government should be commended for providing individual houses for plantation workers, which was a long felt need of theirs, which I am happy is now being implemented.

None would disagree that this category belongs to the most important component for the smooth working of all plantations.

Their importance is realized when they go on strike, crippling the entire administration, causing colossal losses.

Accordingly, they should not be neglected, but looked after, if they are to continue residing and working on the plantations, preventing them from going in search of greener pastures.

Hence this timely action of the Government should be admired compelling these workers to remain in their given dwellings, thereby being a service to the plantations as well.

It is the responsibility of the Governments and the employers to keep them happy and content preventing them from disappearing from the plantations, losing much needed revenue for the rest of the country to survive.

TOMMY WANIGESINGHE - Kurunegala