A people’s movement

The decision by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to revamp and rejuvenate the Co-operative movement would no doubt be hailed by the larger masses who have been grappling with the rising cost of living.

The move is designed to provide the population all essential goods at affordable prices and to protect the average consumer from the vicissitudes of market forces that determine the prices of almost all essential items.

The need for a State institution to come to the rescue of the people had been felt for a long time especially at a time the prices of essential goods were spiralling out of control due mainly to the determinants in global markets.

Time was when the Co-operative movement assumed the role of a truly people’s movement and was the pivot round the lives of the rural community who were active participants in the co-operative societies.

It functioned as a truly grassroots movement that brought immense relief to the people by providing them with essential commodities at subsidised prices while also extending other services such as loans on easy payment.

Sadly with the advent of the open economy the Co-operative movement like many other State organs lost relevance and clout and was allowed to die a natural death much to the detriment of the common masses.

Hence the move by the President to restore the co-op movement to its pristine pre-eminent position among the masses no doubt would be considered as progressive move.

Every effort should be made to depoliticise the co-op movement so that a larger segment could benefit by its service.

The President who was a member of the United Front Government which ushered in the golden era of the co-op movement is well aware of its inherent benefits to the common masses.

It is hoped that the impetus provided by the President would once rekindle the ideals of the Co-op movement and make it flourish as a true people’s movement.

Clean cities

The decision taken by the Kandy Municipal Council to ban posters within the Kandy City is a timely move.

The clampdown it is hoped would be emulated in other major cities especially the capital Colombo which has been grappling with the poster problem for a long time.

It is certainly an indictment on the authorities that Kandy which is a world heritage city has been allowed to go to pot. The city which is one of the main tourist attractions is today an eyesore with garbage dotting its once beautiful landscape.

The indiscriminate pasting of posters on every wall space in the city has only exacerbated the problem forcing the Mayor to read the riot act. The proliferation of posters is a phenomenon not confined to the hill capital.

Almost every major city is afflicted with the problem. Rampant commercialisation of almost every field of activity has contributed in no small measure to environmental degradation.

Even sacred sites such as the Sri Pada have not been spared, not to mention sites such as Horton Plains where human callousness has caused much damage and destruction to hitherto breathtaking landscapes.

The Kandy Mayor has threatened to prosecute the offenders who have made this historic city an eyesore to tourists and other visitors. According to the Mayor the worse offenders have been the mushrooming tutories which had not spared even the lampposts in the city. He has threatened to use the Municipal by-laws to deal with the offenders.

The reluctance on the part of the authorities to act in terms of the Municipal by laws has emboldened the offenders to carry on regardless. Kandy is not the only city plagued by the affliction. Nuwara-Eliya which has been described as Little England is today dotted with garbage mounds taking away much of the famed beauty of the city.

The problem worsens during the holiday season when the Colombo folk converge on the city. A stepped up campaign should be launched by the authorities to prevent our major cities from being despoiled.

Colombo city is a classic example of the unchecked deterioration that has been allowed to continue. Election time is open sesame for all political parties to plaster city walls with election posters.

The CMC looks on while the laws are being openly flouted. It is hilarious to see the CMC using the ‘poster buster’ machine to blast out the posters from the walls without taking action to prevent it in the first place.

It is time that the authorities give serious thought to address the deteriorating conditions in all major cities before further damage is done through pollution and other forms of degradation.