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Noise pollution to be kept under control

I thank the Government for taking up the above issue which is causing serious health problems in this country.

I hope that the eyes of the Urban Council authorities are opened before they are given powers to take legal action against this matter, because we find that many loudspeakers are installed on the streets for even the slightest thing, where the Urban Councils are turning a deaf ear.

These loudspeakers are in use almost 18 to 20 hours a day and for a week or two even after the real festival or feast day has finished.

I hope that all police stations will be notified of such laws and please ensure that action be taken against such people who cause inconveniences to others when a complaint is made, irrelevant of the person's wealth and status in society.

Sometimes we find that when a complaint is made against a prominent figure, it is just swept under the carpet and he keeps on causing more noise and more inconveniences to the person who made the complaint, in revenge.
IMMANUEL JEBAMONY, Kiribathgoda.

Employment of women in private banks

Ref. letter on the above (DN May 17) the issue of employment in the private sector banks and mercantile establishments is the prerogative decision of the employer.

The employer has a lawful, virtuous and a fundamental right to select and employ persons whom they consider most suitable, in their thinking, for employment and who in their opinion is capable of providing the service, the employer desires, with distinction. The selection and employment is thus their prerogative and an inalienable privilege.

If an HR manager requested for "a verbal undertaking that she will not get pregnant for two years", the concerned bank should get rid of the HR manager, very early. But, it is very unlikely that an experienced HR manager will make such a suggestion. Other than for a specialist post most banks recruit, for junior levels, persons with 'O' level or 'A' level and not married persons.

Local banks with their extensive branch network require more persons who at short notice will be prepared to go out of Colombo. A boy, married or otherwise, at short notice, perhaps with a customary protest, will pack his bags and leave for his new destination. A girl, one has to expect, will have to take permission from her parents or sometimes from her husband.

Some girls agree to work in outstation branches, but, requests for re-transfers are imminent. After marriage, a girl will not desire a transfer to another location in order to look after her children. A husband on the other hand will make suitable arrangements and agree to go on transfer to any place out of Colombo. In a developing country like Sri Lanka, where unemployment is high, more employment opportunities should be provided to boys, other than in nursing, garment industries, receptionists, secretaries etc., for the reason that a girl, without employment, could get married and could have a happy family life.

Unemployment is not a disqualification for a girls marriage. But, for a boy without employment, a marriage is a distant dream, and the reluctance of a girl's parents will prevail, and he becomes a burden to his parents, a problem to the society and some invariably get involved in numerous vices. For an unemployed boy, family life is unthinkable. Thus, employers, should consider more employment for boys. If all boys are employed and most girls are unemployed, the society will have less problems.

A tea exporting firm, with innovative products, located in South of Colombo has employed blind boys and girls and a private bank has employed dumb boys and girls, perhaps a limited number as a social responsibility. But, no authority could enforce an order to employ more such persons.

If one were to visit a branch of a private bank, the place is apparently full of girls creating an impression that more girls are being employed by private banks. But, the prevailing issue is that most parents living in urban areas desire banks or other leading mercantile firm employment for their children.
KASI SILVA

The penalty is death

The late Mervyn Casiechetty, Senior Lawyer and versatile poet, with whom I shared common professional and literary interests, had composed the poem appearing below in 1958.

The poem is included in his book of poems - "Rhyme and Reason", which he gifted to me.

The poem is more topical today than in 1958 and deserves to be learned, marked and inwardly digested by all those intellectuals and human rights activists who are champions of the Anti-Death penalty campaign. These champions are perhaps not aware of the tragic death of the late Mervyn Casiechetty, whose valuable life was snuffed out by a gang of ruthless murderers, what Mr. Casiechetty said of The Death Penalty is more relevant today than in 1958.
STANLEY FERNANDO, Ratmalana

The penalty is death

In helpless rage I almost weep
To think that life is held so cheap,
We fuss about the single deer,
The royal marksman honoured here,
But what of those who boldly kill
Their fellow human beings at will?
And do we seek the reason why,
These folk are thus condemned to die,
Dispatched with unrelenting speed
By some dastardly villain's deed.

The handmade bomb's terrific blast,
The cruel steel, or poisoned draught,
The bullet dread, or bloody knife
Has claimed the unsuspecting life.

The victim of such coward blow
His sudden end would never know;
His wife and children tearless yearn,
For him, who's now beyond return.

How many a woman in her prime
Was butchered in a ruthless crime?
A jilted lover in despair,
Destroys a life so young and fair;
Or some adulterous villain dread
Has sought to share another's bed.

But sex and passion, theft and pride,
Hate, envy, drink and dope beside,
Whatever motive is adduced
The crime itself is not reduced.

No power on earth can yet restore
Life to the corpse that breathes no more;
Nor can we ever compensate,
The bereaved, who bemoan their fate.

But people still will sympathize
With killers, not with him who dies
And so we spare the monster's life
Who fired the shot or plunged the knife,
And crime and murder stalk the land
Whilst those in power stay their hand.

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,
May be Mosaic law in truth,
but death alone will satisfy,
The luckless victim's anguished cry.
- Mervyn Casie Chetty

Death penalty

The death penalty is considered to act as a deterrent to those likely to commit crimes in the future.

However, in this regard a person who has committed a serious crime is produced before courts for necessary action and the vital judgement is normally given after a number of years.

As a result of this the committing of the crime and the passing of sentence namely, gallows is so far apart that the deterrent effect is lost.

There are several other aspects where the gallows are disregarded by likely criminals. At the time of committing the crime they are not mindful of the gallows for a number of reasons.

They are confident that they would be safeguarded by powerful politicians or affluent businessmen. The other aspect is that almost all crimes are committed under the influence of heavy liquor. Hence the introduction of the death penalty alone would not act as a deterrent for future criminals.

At this stage it is necessary to educate the masses to understand the ill effects of criminal behaviour in general and also special rehabilitation programs for selected misguided persons.

It is also necessary to point out that during the lifespan of a human being the anti-social and deviant behaviour patterns could be avoided if proper action is taken from the childhood days.

This should be given serious thought as the lifespan of a human being need to be adjusted in order to create a meaningful and understanding society where all beings can live in harmony. The outcome would be no crimes and no gallows.
D. H. JAYARATNE, Moratuwa.

Fizzy drinks decay bone mass and teeth

Ref. an article which appeared recently in the print media.

Think twice before you drink Fizzy drinks, the popular colas, or any other soft drinks for you gulp down carbon dioxide. 'The average p.h. of soft drinks eg. cola drinks is p.h. 3.4 This acidity is strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones.

Soft drinks do not have any nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals. They have higher sugar content, higher acidity and more additives such as preservatives and colouring. Colas put stress on the digestive system and food gets feted.

There had been a competition in the Delhi university - who drink the most cola drinks? The winner drank 8 bottles and died on the spot because too much carbon dioxide in the blood and not enough oxygen. From there on the Principal banned all soft drinks from the University canteen.

If you put a broken tooth in a bottle of cola and within 10 days it gets dissolved! Teeth and bones are the only human organs that stay in tact for years after death.

Do you know that;

1. To clean a toilet pour a can of Cola into the toilet bowl. After one hour flush clean. The citric acid in cola removes stains from vitreous china.

2. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:- Rub the bumper with a crumpled up piece of Reynolds Wraps Aluminium foil dipped in Cola drinks.

3. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals:- Pour a can of Cola drink over the terminal to bubble away the corrosion.

4. To loosen a rusted bolt:- Apply a cloth soaked in cola drink to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

5. To bake a moist ham:- Empty a can of cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminium foil and bake.

6. To remove grease from cloth:- Empty a can of cola into a bowl of greasy cloth, add deterrent and run through a regular cycle. Cola will loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from the windshield.

The distributors of cola have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years.

Another important factor these fizzy drink bottles do not indicate Expiry dates on the bottles any where. There are all fermented for months or even years.

Cannot the quality standard authorities and Health authorities look into these dangers especially to our younger generation before it is too late. The Govt. should bring this up in the world forums. In the USA and several other countries colas are banned.

These multi national companies are very liberal in distributing free Fridges and deep freezers and coolers. By various means they hook our young ones by various attractive advertisements and billboards. Wrong values, status symbol, fashion smartness and robust of youth are some of the misleading notions put across these advertisements. The promotional campaigns are so effective and misleadingly effective that in every family at least one member is caught in these traps.

We have to find fault with Sri Lanka Tea Board for they are sleeping while their market in the world is being usurped by colas. As a nation we should all boycott all fizzy drinks and principals of schools should ban soft drinks from their canteens for they encourage selling of poison to our young ones.

Ultimate appeal is to the authorities to curtail all soft drinks in our beloved Sri Lanka. Drink more tea, tembili, kurumba and kola kenda for better health.
V. K. B. RAMANAYAKE, Maharagama.

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