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| Friday, 24 October 2003 |
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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.
Polythene - An environmental hassle Polythene causes a lot of destruction to the environment. It is because polythene is not biodegradable and environmentally friendly. Polythene is a product of ethylene. Many ethylene molecules link together and give rise to polythene. It has two forms of polymer. . LDPE - low density polythene This type of polythene is made by polymerization of ethylene at high temperature and high pressure. It is used as a cheap wrapping film. It is more flexible. . HDPE - High density polythene. This type is produced at moderate pressure and at 100 degrees Centigrade. It's harder, more rigid and is used for the manufacture of products such as plastic bowls and baskets. There are many advantages of using polythene. That would be the very reason the poly bags have become popular among the people. . They come in different colours and are much easier to use. . They are cheap and disposable. . They do not tear off easily as the paper bags. Usage of polythene brings many disadvantages. . Polythene is not biodegradable, and if dumped in the soil causes harm to the plant life, as the toxic substances of polythene get blocked among the soil particles. . Polythene threatens the life in the water bodies. The chemicals in polythene affects the survival of flora and fauna of the aquatic and marine eco systems. . Polythene is also likele to clog the drains causing problems in the water flow of the pipes. The pipe blockages would cause flooding and the free flow of water is disturbed. . Polythene is harmful for animals if swallowed. It solidifies inside the abdominal cavity which ultimately becomes lethal to the animal. . In most households poly bags are used to preserve food items. It has been found out, the colourful poly bags contains lead and cadmium which are toxic and cause adverse effects to human health. . If polythene is burnt in open air Hydrogen cyanide which is carcinogenic (cancer causing) is released. Hydrogen cyanide causes environmental pollution and health hazards. In order to reduce the damage caused by polythene there are many options which the attention could be drawn for - . Paper bags or cloth bags could be used. . They recycling and reusing should be enhanced. . When burning polythene it should be done in closed chambers or any other environmentally friendly manner. This reduces pollutants escaping into the atmosphere. . Use of polythene in food preservation should be discouraged. . Disposal of polythene in to soil or water bodies should not be allowed. New laws got to be implemented. With all these in mind I feel our Government should ban polythene like in many developed countries. This would enable us to live in a polythene free nation one day. VISHAKA SENADHIRA, 1) I would like to know from any of the readers who have been following budget debates in the country, since Indepence. Whether a Minister of Finance has ever announced a token reduction of a budget deficit in his winding up speech on the last day of the debate? 2) Whether a citizen has ever sent a contribution to a Finance Minister by way of money on the last day of a budget debate to reduce the budget deficit by that amount with a covering letter? 3) Whether a Minister has ever accepted such a contribution and publicly acknowledged it in his winding up speech and tabled and read the covering letter of the contributor at the very beginning of his winding up speech. 4) If such a thing has ever happened does it not amount to a record in Parliamentary budgeting, where a citizen has brought down a budget deficit officially in Parliament by in this case I am going to refer to, quoting from the Hanzard of November 21st 1986 by Rs. 10. In this case, I happen to be the contributor of Rs. 10 to reduce the budget deficit. At that time I just got the idea to do something unusual and I did it. Now with another budget debate just round the corner it just struck me that this could be a record. Hence this letter to verify. Whether it is so from any knowledgeable reader, or may be from the then Minister himself Mr. Ronnie de Mel, who is now a member of parliament. E. ARAMBEWALA, The following is the relevant portion of the Minister's speech that day as recorded in the Hanzard of November 21, 1986. (Mr. R. J. G. de Mel) Then, Sir, the Hon. Leader of the Opposition also read some extracts from the "Sun" newspaper of reactions of members of the public - so called reactions of Members of the public - to my Budget. I do not know why he confined his observations to the "Sun" newspaper. There were other observations made in the "Sun" newspaper favourable to the Budget. There were observations made in the "Davasa" newspaper, in the "Divaina" newspaper, in the "Island" newspaper, even if you exclude the "Daily News" and the "Dinamina" as State owned newspapers. There were people's reactions over the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and Rupavahini, both favourable reactions and unfavourable reactions. I am surprised that the Leader of the Opposition only confined himself to two or three reactions of some people who had violently criticized my Budget in the "Sun" newspaper. Since he raised this matter, Sir, I thought it fit and proper to do something which I hardly ever do in this House. I never quote from other people's speeches. I never go into moth-eaten HANSARD. As a matter of policy I do not do that type of thing. I rarely table letters. But today I thought I will table a letter which is one of several that I have received. As I was going out this morning for lunch I got a letter which had been addressed to me in this House. It is a very strange letter with a cheque also, a cheque for Rs. 10. - (Interruption). This is not a capitalist that is writing to me. He is not a person I know. I have never met him. I have not even heard his name. His name is Edward Arambewala. His address is B 21/10, De Soysa Flats, Moratuwa. This letter is dated 19.11.1986. It has attachment of a Rs. 10 cheque. Addressed "Minister of Finance, Rupees ten only". This is what he says "to Mr. Ronnie de Mel, Hon. Minister of Finance and Planning, Parliament, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte. Honourable Sir, "The heading is, "Tenth Budget and my token voluntary contribution of Rs. 10 towards meeting the unbridged budget deficit". It is a very strange, sincere, nice letter. Of course, he has made a very big mistake about the Budget deficit. He says, "towards meeting the unbridged Budget deficit of Rs. 12.2 billion". Now, my unbridged deficit is only Rs. 3.5 billion in the end. The letter goes on as follows: "It would be a pleasant surprise to you to get this letter from an ordinary citizen of this country on the last day of the Second Reading of your Tenth Budget. I say a 'pleasant surprise' because you would never have expected that at least one ordinary citizen of this country would come forward on his own and offer a token contribution of even Rs. 10 towards meeting your unbridged Budget deficit. Now let me explain to you why I have decided to do so. There is no secrecy about the fact that you have presented your Tenth Budget at a very crucial time in the history of this country". I do not think you should make side comments about a person like this. He is a patriotic citizen of this country. There are hundreds, thousands and millions like him in this country. I was at a meeting last Saturday in Galle. Hundreds of people gathered round me and said: "We expected you to introduce a National Defence Levy. You announced it in your last Budget. We are quite prepared to pay a National Defence Levy. Why did you not introduce it because we know the difficulty the Government is going through". I have received hundreds of such letters. Do not think we are getting these letters from the UNP branches. If so, I would not have wasted my time. I have never brought a letter to this House before nor have I ever done this type of thing. It is only because I was convinced of the sincerity of this man - I think it is an example that we should all follow - that I thought I should bring this to, the notice of the House. Colonisation and peace settlement This refers to the article of Amrit Muttukumaru in the (DN Oct. 8) where the author says that the issue of state colonisation needs to be taken into the reckoning in the peace settlement process. I feel that this issue should have no bearing on the peace process and should be buried once and for all. There was ample justification for post independence governments to settle the descendants of the deprived people of the Kandyan kingdom and those of the South in the Eastern Province. In fact the state had a duty by the people to do this. After all, the ancestors of those settled were the majority in the Eastern region from time immemorial till the British after the rebellions ending in 1848 hounded them out of their territory. There was a massive exodus of Kandyans who were forced to leave their homesteads and possessions to escape the holocaust. Some even changed their names and religion. Their land became available to the Moors, settled there by the Kandyan Kings, and the few Tamils who were already there. Thereafter the more enterprising Northerners came to occupy the land along with the Moors. The Kandyans suffered further deprivation when under the Waste Lands Ordinance they lost uncultivated land from their ownership. And with state sponsored settlement of Indian Tamil migrants in the Kandyan areas and in the South the last nail was hammered into the coffin of these destitute people. It has to be realized that, assuming approximately 12% ratio for the Tamils in the population distribution even at that time, the percentage living in the East could not have been more than 4% as the majority of Tamils would have been living in the North under their king (with a few spread here and there in the Puttalam and Colombo districts). Gradually the Tamil population in the East could have risen up to about 50%. The population density in the vast area of the East would have diminished to a very low level after the exodus of the Kandyans. With the restoration of ancient irrigation tanks and the launching of new irrigation development schemes the state had a paramount duty, both in pre and post independence periods, to correct the demographic imbalances and grant relief to the Sinhala people who had suffered wrongs during the colonial period. In a book titled "For a Sovereign State" by Gunaratne, an ex planter, published in the late Eighties the author revealing some insights into the land question in the East mentions instances of illegal encroachments organized systematically by a section of people in the East in the furtherance of Eelam. This so-called grievance regarding State sponsored Sinhala settlements in the Traditional Tamil speaking areas of the East should not get into the agenda of the peace talks as there was ample justification for it and the talks could proceed on the basis of the status quo of today as in the case of the issue of "Standardization" which has ceased to be an issue to day although there may have been some justification for it then. LEO FERNANDO, A writer to DN 14.10.2003 stated that tax income (excluded income) and wealth particulars are omitted in the tax return. The latter is so as it is not required for tax purposes after removal of wealth tax. But former is in the return at cage 15 where all exempted incomes, WHT taxed incomes should be declared. There is a bigger discrepancy in the tax return which tax officials have failed to advise to tax payers. The budget proposals declared that interests where less than Rs. 108,000 per year on each deposit exist those interests are exempted from WHT. Also, interests are not to be cumulated for assessable income. It is inferred therefore that interests on each deposit less than Rs. 108,000 per annum is not taxable. But the cage 5 of the return wants all interests from which tax has not been deducted by the Bank to be totalled up to arrive at assemble income. Then, in some cases of tax payers with other income 35% tax has to be paid on interest income. Isn't there a contradiction between budget proposals and tax department? Tax Dept. was unable to advise on this issue. Ministry of Finance should look into this discrepancy and issue correct instructions to the Tax Dept. and tax payers. B. F. COORAY, Having read many letters for and against unethical conversions I thought to add this. There is no better alternative to interfaith amity. Religious and social leaders should act in harmony to maintain religious peace without inflaming the mutual hatred as the original idea of all religions has been to rid hatred from the society. Even though the church was a repressive arm of the emperors in the medieval Europe through time it has transformed into a more gentle organization due the influence and development of thought of expression, democracy, individual and collective liberty. There are excellent interrelations between the Buddhists and Catholic followers in Sri lanka with lot of Catholic churches enjoying veneration of Buddhists and vise versa, free intermarriage etc. Culmination of which produced a Pansale Piyathuma (Rev Fr. Mercelin Jayakody). Even though the Portuguese carried out war and deception to convert Buddhists into their religion, in the immediate aftermath of repression of Catholics by the Dutch the Buddhists acted with compassion to provide safe haven to those fleeing persecution. The modern fundamentalist Christians want to go back to tribal thinking that existed when those religions originated in the Middle East 2000 years ago, by passing all the historical gains in the right of free and rational thinking. Buddhist thought illuminates the dark corners of man's mind, teaches universal kindness without separating the mankind by artificial ramifications such as Jews and Arabs. Therefore only Buddhism can bring an eternal peace to the world. All conflicts and wars first start in man's mind there for the way for deliverance is achieving mental discipline, nurturing compassionate thoughts by continuous suppression of sinful thoughts adhering to the noble eight fold path and practising four-fold noble behaviour Metta, Karuna, Muditha, Upekkha. Destruction of great cultures at the God's command and transforming the whole world in to a cultural monotony will make the mankind poorer and convert it into one big lunatic asylum. We all have to accept the right of existence of diverse cultures which makes the world a beautiful place to live. With the collapse of the Soviet Union Cold War ended to welcome the old enemy of the mankind which is religious war. Ultimately it is not the God's command it is the blazing greed of vested interests who benefit financially by conversions sans ethics. B. P. PERERA, |
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