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The Government and private sector should explore the possibility of
introducing flexible working hours. This will greatly reduce the traffic
congestion in the morning and evening.
A three hour window could be kept open to start and end work from
7-10 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. and employees could report to work and end work
on a staggered time basis.
An employee would anyway need to complete the usual 40 hours of work
per week.
The extra flexibility will enable people to attend to their day to
day errands with ease, will enable parents who take their children to
school without difficulty and spread the peak time traffic entering and
exiting the city. Initially on experimental basis, this could be
introduced to staff level officers.
It may tend to be abused by minor employees. Fingerprint time marking
machines at work places would be a solution for abuse of this privilege.
Flexible working hours are in use in almost all developed countries and
it is time that our country also seriously considers introducing it
here.
K.G.E. Nugegoda
I'm sure all Sri Lankans, Singhala, Tamil, Muslim, Malay, Burgher
except of course those ruthless LTTE terrorists will offer their deepest
sympathies and condolences to 'Big Brother' India for this act of
terrorism, this senseless carnage and murder of hundreds of innocent
men, women and children.
After this single act of terrorism, I suppose India will now
understand the pain, sorrow, anguish and destruction which Sri Lanka has
endured, almost daily during the last three decades.
This tragedy in Mumbai has taught the world a lesson. Those
superpowers and those who claim to be superpowers should now realise
that if you harbour, nurture, fund and arm a terrorist group, it will
sooner or later strike back at you. 9/11 is an excellent example. Of
course there are many more examples closer home. Further, the world's
third biggest army took over three days and nights to subdue 13 or 14
terrorists in three different locations.
India has done the correct thing in deciding not to negotiate with
terrorists. This should be a principle when dealing with terrorists
anywhere in the world and not as happens now. Negotiate, when small
countries like ours are involved (even if they happen to be the world's
most ruthless breed), but go for the kill in the large and powerful
ones.
Of course, it is now well recognised that Sri Lanka's security
services are the best and most experienced in the world.
Even with their limited resources their successes have been
phenomenal and with minimal civilian casualties. On the other hand,
superpowers 'fighting' defenceless countries, on trumped up shameless
lies such as WMD etc. and with the most sophisticated weapons, large
numbers of casualties among innocent civilians have occurred almost on a
daily basis.
I am sure President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be generous enough to
offer our expertise in fighting terrorism to anyone in need.
However there are two beneficiaries from this dastardly deed.
1) The English Cricket team found an excuse to bolt before it got a
whitewash in the one day series.
2) The INGO and NGO vultures who will now swarm down in their hordes
to feed on the carrion caused by this carnage.
W. R. Gunapala
Cricket was called a 'gentleman's game' in the good old days. It was
played for the sake of playing the game and for the fun of it.
Cricketers went broke playing cricket. However, the players and the
spectators enjoyed the game together.
The cricketers were contended and happy and were respected and
admired. Even after they were no more they continued to be remembered
with respect.
That is no more. Cricket today is commercialised. It is now a
profession which brings in a lot of money to the players and the
administrators. Cricket is highly competitive and the players have to do
everything possible, including cheating, to win the game. If a catch is
grounded or if you nick the ball to the wicket keeper, you should not
own it up but wait for the umpire's decision and if the decision is
wrong, keep silent. What matters is the win that brings in millions of
dollars. Cricket presently demands strength and unruliness as against
grace and gentlemanliness that was expected in the past.
Cricketers today rarely play for the country. They play for money.
Bowlers attempt to break the heads of the batsmen than the wickets.
Intimidatory tactics are considered virtues that bring in wealth.
Sledging, abuse, growling, on and off the field expose the emergence of
uncultured and ungentlemanly behaviour among the players. Drugs and
unconventional methods have been used illegally for performance
enhancement. Cricket has become a bookmakers' paradise with players
lending active support.
The Australian team is guilty of having introduced body-line bowling
and rough tactics to the game in 1921 when playing England. That has
since enveloped the game of cricket. A tragedy no doubt. Some umpires
have been racist or colour biased or simply biased as a result of which
cricket has been the loser. Standards have fallen.
Spectators turn abusive, cast insults, hurl bottles and other objects
at the players, rattle players and spread ill-will. Players fear to lose
matches. A defeat will not only be a financial loss but also may result
in facing the danger of bodily harm or having homes razed to the ground.
Cricket or any other sport today, does not create goodwill between
nations and amongst the players as modern values in sport resolve around
money. They sometimes lead to orgies of hatred. Mahela Jayawardena and
some of our cricketers opting to play for money than for the country has
therefore to be viewed in the context of the present day sporting
values.
Coming to the cancelled tour, we should have selected a national team
dropping those who cannot play for the country. We may have lost the
matches to start with, but would have set a healthy precedent and played
the leisurely game of cricket as should be played. That would have been
a good investment for the future also serving as a deterrent.
Upali S. Jayasekera Colombo 04
There are three places where you find traffic lights in the Colombo
Fort area, but in two of the places, the lights are not working. One is
at the end of Chatham Street and the other in front of People's Bank
Fort.
It is very strange that you find lots of policemen and police women
manning the check points all over Fort area, but no one seems to care
that the above traffic lights are not working.
As pedestrians we find it difficult to cross the road during lunch
hour because motorists may not know if the particular traffic lights are
not working and they are reluctant to stop the vehicles.
I can remember that when I once told about this problem to a
policeman who mans a check point in the area, he told me to report it to
Traffic Police.
I hope and wish the authorities concerned will take steps to remedy
the situation as soon as they see this letter.
Praneetha Perera Moratuwa
Viewing from a Buddhist perspective, the present crises appears to
stem from excessive greed (dadi-lobha) which appears to have been taken
for granted and also elevated to the level of a virtue in today's
materialistic world.
Many people tend to live beyond their means by resorting to credit
financing and mortgages and the (Financial institutions encourage this
practice by offering loans on concessionary terms and easy payment
terms).
As a result many people tend to live beyond their means.
Whenever a new invention or contrivance is put out into the market
many consumers, opt for it whether they have the means to purchase it
not, due to availability of easy credit, and it so happens that many of
their items and articles are not indispensable requirements.
Sometimes it is due to the desire 'to keep up with the Jones's.'
In the rush if some serious illness or accident happens to a family
member, which really necessitates heavy spending, a serious financial
crisis could occur due to the already existing indebtedness, unless
there is adequate health insurance.
In the circumstances it is necessary to inculcate in the people the
value of adopting simple life style and keeping a low profile till the
'storm blows over'. As the Buddha observed happiness, joy sorrow,
prosperity, adversity etc. are all worldy conditions which are subject
to the inexorable law of annica or change which could occur at any time
and whether you laugh or cry, accept or reject, it would continue to be
the reality. Therefore the only remedy would be adjustment and
acceptance of the reality.
Now, the development should be directed towards the mind, which
should promote 'simple living and high thinking' which would elucidate
the wisdom of the Buddha's assertion that 'concernment is the greatest
wealth'.
This attitude if cultivated would also help to curb environmental
pollution and global warming which is partly the result of excessive
industrialisation, urbanisation and travel; Here again one is reminded
of the Buddha's teaching that in this fathom long body along with it
perceptions and thoughts, do I proclaim the world, the origin of the
world.
The cessation of the world and the path leading to the cessation of
the world. To a follower of the Buddha wide travel alone will not ensure
wisdom or contentment but a proper understanding of the nature of a
being in terms of reality would be the answer.
Once the Buddha advised relinquishment in the following manner,
"Empty the Boat o monks, empty it will sail lightly with you". So it
should dawn on the wise that the more you acquire, the more you would be
burdened with care and worry which is actually a form of 'Dukkha'.
Therefore, if the Buddha's prescription for all ill is given serious
consideration many would find it easy to meet the travails of economic
problems which would otherwise have appeared distressing and hopeless.
J.C. Boange Rjagiriya
Two weeks ago, I witnessed a nasty accident at the
Elvitigala-Kirimandala Mawatha junction, Colombo 5, in the morning, when
the traffic was very heavy.
A traffic policeman at this junction, signalled to several vehicles
on Kirimandala Mawatha, turning towards Borella to proceed, while the
traffic light was red.
Just as the first car pulled out to turn towards Borella, obeying the
cop's order to go when the traffic light was red, there was a horrendous
bang like a bomb going off and I witnessed a motorcyclist coming from
Borella on Elvitigala Mawatha, crashing into the side of this car at
full speed, as he had only seen the green light and not the policeman.
The motorcyclist crashed into the car driver's door and went flying over
the vehicle and landed on the centre of the road. I do not know whether
he survived the crash.
In such instances, after all the hue and cry is over, who is going to
decide who was at fault.
The motorcyclist had apparently not seen the policeman. Therefore, he
had proceeded as the traffic light was green. The car driver had
proceeded towards Borella as the traffic cop had signalled him to do so.
I wonder what the traffic policeman would have said, when he realised
that this horrific accident occurred, due to his waving of arms ignoring
the traffic light signal.
This foolish hand signalling occurs at every major traffic light
junction in the city and it is no surprise that such accidents occur. If
traffic policemen have no other function than doing this every morning
and evening, they should switch-off the traffic lights and proceed to
give hand signals standing in the middle of the road.
I sincerely hope the SSP Traffic Police will find a solution to this
problem that affects all motorists daily, leaving them in a state of
uneasiness, as to whether to obey the lights or the traffic police.
Swarna Jayasingha Nugegoda
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