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| Monday, 30 December 2002 |
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Letters | |
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Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Garbage, which is a collection of all types of waste, finds its place as an unavoidable entity in the midst of the people. In spite of the disadvantages of waste material including polythene and plastics, which are, daily being hoarded, creates a serious problem to the masses. As a result of this acute state of affairs it has become necessary for the local authorities to tackle the issue. In this instance I wish to mention that during the past few years a solid waste management project is being carried out in the Galle Municipal area by Arthacharya Foundation a non governmental organization funded by NORAD. This is the first of its kind of Sri Lanka. Arthacharya began this project with a few field officers visiting households, meeting its inmates and carrying out awareness programs on how solid waste could be put to good use. Initially the inmates were requested to collect the daily waste and sort them out depending on the nature of bio-degradability. The next step was to introduce them to compost manure by the issue of barrels. The manure thus produced is either sold or used in home gardens especially for vegetables. In order to improve and take a keener interest in their activity they were introduced to savings through their earnings while at the same time micro credit facilities were made available. With this advantage the householders who had already formed themselves into community-based organizations began to undertake the responsibility of handling solid waste. With the passage of time it was noticed that garbage was not a serious problem in the Galle Municipal area. This enabled the Municipality to save a sum of Rs. 1.5 million annually on the disposal of garbage. In the meantime this project has been advantageous towards the improvement of the environment. The people in the area particularly the female folk realized the value of a project of this nature in the betterment of their living standards. With the guidance from Arthacharya these people were able to tackle their problems independently without bothering their male partners. They made use of the micro credit facilities in starting new trades or in improving the existing ones. With an improved and regular income they were able to raise their living standards. These people are always mindful of the fact that they have reached a level of self-satisfaction arising out of a solid waste project in which they were involved. However, with the continuity of more and more polythene and plastics being used it was still a problem. At this stage the Institute of Technology and Development Growth (ITDG) donated a re-cycling plant imported from India for the purpose of recycling this waste. This was again helpful to the people as it was they who would supply this waste material and the recycled product would bring them a further income. It is clearly seen that Arthacharya Foundation who are involved in this project has introduced a dire necessity benefiting this area and acting as an example to the rest of the country. As a result of this success in Galle, a team of New Zealanders while being stationed in the area for a number of weeks carried out a thorough study of this project for future activities here and abroad. D. H. Jayaratne-Moratuwa
Unreasonable SLT phone package I applied for a residential telephone on the 11th of February 2002. With priority approval, I was given a connection on the 10th of December 2002, amidst tremendous effort. The package issued to me is Rs. 1500 + 200 (monthly rental + VAT) for 3 years. Surely I have no need to burn Rs. 1500 monthly on call charges. And I am going to pay this Rs. 1500 unnecessarily for 3 long years. But I understand that another type of package (Rs. 1000 + Rs. 200 + VAT) for 1 year, is also available. I do not run a commercial or profit-making venture. I only applied for a "Residential Telephone with priority" and it is solely meant for my personal use. But, the mode of tariff the Sri Lanka Telecom levies on the citizens of the war-torn city of Jaffna is totally unreasonable. They do exploit the situation of their monopoly in Jaffna by imposing any type of the so-called packages to extract large amounts of money from the peasants of Jaffna. ISWARAN-Jaffna
Like Dr. Mrs. Mareena Thaha Reffai (Thought for food, Daily News, 4 December) I believe we should reduce our dependency on bread and increase our use of rice as our staple food, principally because it will increase our economic self-reliance if we do so. I have now for several years acted on this belief in my own way of life, and I hope to continue doing so, but I have not yet been able to go all the way and abandon bread. There are two reasons for this. One is the trivial reason that a little slice of bread is far superior to rice in wiping up a plate which has curry on it. The second reason is that I have a few pet animals and I do not have a servant to cook rice for them and I have not got down to doing so myself. There are in my life so many inconsistencies of this sort which I live with and keep on hoping that some viable solution for eradicating them will turn up. Let me mention some of these inconsistencies. I am a vegetarian but I go to the market to buy the horrible fish and meat stuff for the animals who are natural carnivores. I am a pacifist but don't know whether the money in my fixed deposit in the bank is not being used for military purposes. I believe that the body has a vast array of natural healing powers but have not had the courage to stop taking at least some of the drugs that have been prescribed for me by the doctor. I believe I should live at ground level with flowering plants and trees around me, but I am forced to live in an upstair flat. I believe I should be creative but I have got into a daily routine in which I do not spend time thinking about creativity and doing something about it. ERIC DABARE-Colombo 4 |
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