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Electricity consumptionOn my travels to Sri Lanka, I was surprised that in a country where the sun is shining many hours all day, no 'sun collectors' are installed. You cannot solve your power problems with big power plants, but with small installations. But people who are to create such sun collectors for their houses or businesses should be rewarded or taxed less. SCHRANZ JURG, ---- 'Sweeping changes to private bus service'Daily News carried a news item under the above heading on page 4 of June 3. These news items are very amusing because similar news items appeared in the papers from time immemorial but without any changes for good. Only sweeping changes that took place in the past are at the slightest increase in price of diesel, bus fares sky rocketed. I can remember when Susil Munasinghe was the Chief Minister of Western Provincial Council, he said that he will introduce a raffle system on private bus tickets. Is anyone aware of any person winning a prize on such a raffle? Most of the private buses exhibit a notice very prominently to say that "It is a punishable offence to travel without tickets." But the buses in which these notices are exhibited do not issue tickets at all. Who is there to check this? Even if they issue tickets they are bogus tickets because the tickets they issue are not similar to the value of the fare paid by the passengers. I have very often seen that when the private bus conductors smell that checkers are on their way, they will simply take a bundle of tickets and distribute among the passengers. Language of the private bus conductors is horrible. They have no regard or respect to the passengers. They are like mad dogs and their main intention is to collect money as much as possible. They load the buses like loading coconuts to a lorry. Do we not have rules and regulations governing the number of passengers that could be transported in these buses? If there are such rules where are the officers who should enforce such laws? Are they in deep slumber? C.T.B. under Minister Leslie Gunawardene and under the Chairmanship of Anil Munasinghe functioned very efficiently. It was former President J.R. Jayewardene who introduced the private bus system under his open economy. Most of things he introduced under the open economy system are a curse to the nation. T. J. VICTOR SILVA, --- Advertising hoarding an eyesoreOne of the most beautiful sights in the city of Colombo was the vista of the Indian Ocean visible as one drove or walked down Ramakrishna Road from Galle Road to the Marine Drive. This has now been obliterated by an enormous hoarding about the size of a sight screen seen on a cricket pitch. An unsightly monstrosity is mounted on steel uprights. Is it possible that this advertiser is so insensitive to beauty and environment? Or are advertising companies bereft of seeing beyond their drawing boards? Or is Municipality so greedy that a little more ugliness matters not a jot? I shudder to think that this will be the beginning of a rash of billboards and hoardings dotting the Marine Drive and ending the future of the one road in Colombo that could be a showpiece. There is a local group of companies that has beautified the Slave Island Station and attempted to bring it back to its pristine glory; and its inconceivable to think that this Courier Company has ties with them. When the new Mayor is firmly in his seat pray that he will have the foresight and strength to light up the Marine Drive, plant the verges with grass or foliage, provide a pavement, stop the unauthorised shacks and wayside contraptions and get rid of this ghastly hoarding. A. David, ---- Anomalies on anomalies riseFairly frequent references have been made in our newspapers regarding the issue of pension anomalies the Government has recently been making efforts to rectify. As a retired teacher I appreciate the measures that have so far been taken in this connection by the Department of Pensions. However, the criteria so far adopted in rectifying them appear to have led to the creation of further anomalies, especially in relation to retired teachers. Instances have been brought to light of teachers with the minimum of academic or professional qualifications such as the GCE (O/L) or the Trained Teachers Certificate deriving pension benefits higher than those with much superior qualifications such as a university degree or a professional qualification such as a post-graduate diploma. This is a glaring anomaly that calls for urgent rectification in fairness to the latter category of teachers. This particular anomaly seems to have arisen from the apparent weight age extended to the so-called grades. Some of these grade beneficiaries, it may be noted, are those with comparatively low qualifications mentioned above. On the other hand, there are those graduate teachers with even post-graduate qualifications, mentioned earlier, but denied the benefits of grades. It is really this particular category of teachers, it appears to be, that has been assigned pensions lower than those with inferior academic qualifications. It is, of course, left to the Dept. of Pensions to rectify this gaping anomaly and place those teachers with higher qualifications (they may constitute only a small category) on pension scales higher than those with lower qualifications. Then only will academic qualifications receive the recognition that they must necessarily be accorded in educational spheres - a fact that authorities seem to have lost sight of or ignored in the process of anomaly rectification. However, the remedial actions that may be decided upon to rectify this anomaly must be so arrived at that the interests of those who may be already enjoying pension benefits above the categories of higher qualified teachers referred to will in no way be adversely affected. H. S. R., ---- UNP spokesmenWhat has happened to the UNP? Every statement made by the UNP spokespersons in a national crisis, whether at the Parliament, press briefing, TV discussion or a press interview-starts good but finishes with some anti-national statement. Its deputy secretary Tissa Attanayaka is very clever in this exercise and Deputy Leader, Karu Jayasuriya who was earlier considered to be a nationalist is catching on very fast. Deshapriya Rajapaksha, ---- Inquiries on attorneysI had occasion recently to forward a letter to the Ombudsman in an incident of fraud perpetrated by an Attorney. The majority of attorneys here are very Honourable gentlemen, but this particular attorney is alleged to perpetrate various acts of fraud on his clients. I was surprised, when I received a letter from the Ombudsman dated 21.4.'06 addressed to Palipody Sabaratnam, the victim in this incident which stated "As your complaint is against an Attorney-at-Law, I regret to inform you that no inquiries will be conducted by me." While we have heard in ancient times such as the time of the king Louis in France being subject to the ancient regime of the - 'Divine right of kings' which believed that no Kings could do any wrong, I did not know that such a dispensation against attorneys was believed in by such an august body as that of the Ombudsman. I shall be grateful if anyone can throw light on this matter - please. PRINCE CASINADER, |
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