• Re-establishment of Ceylon Transport Board

• Pleasing the Tiger

• Registrar General’s department

• Animal Rights

Re-establishment of Ceylon Transport Board

All sorts of public bus companies identified in different names have been brought under one umbrella by re-establishing the former Ceylon Transport Board on September 28.

Those who could walk down memory lane towards 1950s could remember that the CTB was established during the regime of late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike ending the transport monopoly enjoyed by a few private owned bus companies.

These bus magnates ran their bus companies according to their whims and fancies paying scant regard to the commuters or their workers. They were a force to be reckoned with as King Makers.

As an election pledge in 1956, these bus companies were nationalized under one banner much to the expectations of the general public. But, with the passage of time, this institution was managed by Ministers in charge of the subject and Chairmen who knew next to nothing about how to run a state transport service of the magnitude of the CTB. The only Chairman who won the accolades of the travelling public was the late Anil Moonasinha.

The CTB was packed with political cronies of the parties in power and it went out of size of its exact figure having an average of 11 people for a bus making it unviable to run as a centralized viable commercial concern.

It happened to be the 3rd largest single transport entity in the world next to London Transport in England and Greyhound in the USA. As we lacked the local expertise to turn this giant monopoly to a profit making and public serving entity, the Governments in power at various periods striped its monolithic appearance and established various transport entities as cluster bus companies, Metro Buses, so and so forth. But the agony of the travelling public was never cured. The decentralized CTB was never able to fulfil the public aspirations.

Now, let bygones be bygones. As the Government has decided to revamp the CTB for the greater good of the public, let us examine as to what went wrong with the CTB being a transport monopoly then.

The scenario has changed now from what it was at the inception, as the CTB is having a very vigorous competitor in the private bus owner cartel.

The work force in any institution is the foundation for its success, efficiency and commercial viability. They should be made partners of the institution. They should be motivated and their good work appreciated. No room should be allowed to pack the CTB with political drum beaters. Special care should be taken as elections are round the corner.

The worker grievances should be sorted and remedial action wherever possible without allowing them to deep root and strikes becoming the ultimate solution.

Let those in power, to whichever party they belong to, understand that the CTB is not an offspring of any political party but a treasure belonging to Mother Lanka.

Good luck to the re-established C.T.B.

J. N. – Nugegoda

Pleasing the Tiger

The recent statement published in a Tamil daily attributed to Tissa Attanayake asserting that the UNP will work for the lifting of the EU ban is if true an act of treachery.

The statement is also a body blow to the UNP election campaign.

Ranil Wickremesinghe must realise that the entire Sinhala electorate together with the Eastern Tamils and Muslims are anti Prabhakaran.

Currying favour with Prabhakaran by a policy of appeasement may guarantee him the Northern Tamil and CWC vote banks but this will generate a backlash in other areas. Wickremesinghe will do well to distance himself from Attanayake’s purported statement.

History has shown that the Tigers move for peace talks only when pressure is placed strongly on them. When the pressure is relaxed they revert to their principal goal of moving towards Eelam.

We recall that soon after the USA terrorist attack of Sept. 11 and the application of western pressure to wage war on International terrorism the Tigers moved for a unilateral ceasefire.

However we foolishly spurned the unilateral ceasefire and opted for a CFA. The result? We scrapped the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Tigers obtained International approbation and acceptance as peace mongers.

They amassed arms, infiltrated heavily all Government controlled areas, eliminated most intelligence personnel and decimated all potential unarmed democratic threats to them. Soon after, they withdrew from peace talks on the flimsiest of excuses.

Two factors caused the Tigers to seek talks once again with the Government.

One is the movement of the EU to warn that a total ban on the Tigers is now a possibility.

The other is the strong emergence of the Karuna faction in the East who have succeeded in chasing out the Tiger assassins masquerading as political cadres. If Karuna is strong Eelam as envisaged by Prabhakaran will never exist.

Appeasement of the Tigers will reverse these gains and whilst a federal solution may be the only option it must be remembered that the Tigers have never accepted that a federal solution is being sought by them. Only the ISGA which is defacto Eelam.

The candidates are both populist and on economic policy there is very little to choose between them.

The one who wins will be he who seeks peace only with honour and not by appeasement which will surely result in Eelam.

I. K. PERERA - Nawala

Registrar General’s department

Many people have to go to the Registrar General’s Department to obtain certain services which no other Department could provide.

When couples wish to get married by Special Licence they have to go to the R.G. Department.

A Power of Attorney Document has to be registered only at the R.G. Department. People going abroad who need English translations of their Birth Certificates have to obtain that service from the R.G. Department. Work of all Notaries is being supervised by the R.G. Department. There are many other essential and important services which could be obtained only from the R.G. Department.

Public access to this very important Department is a key factor. For several years this office was located in a very suitable building facing the Duplication Road in Kollupitiya.

During the time of the last Government this office was shifted to a building in the Main Street at the point where the 5th Cross Street meets the Main Street in Pettah.

No one could reach this building by any vehicle. All the wholesale shops supplying food items to the entire country are located on these narrow cross roads and at all times these narrow cross roads are full of lorries, hand carts, and other vehicles transporting goods and it is not possible for any one to walk along these cross roads to reach the R.G. Department.

The Main Street itself is chock a block with all types of vehicles during the day. In this situation how does anyone get to the R.G. Department for an important service.

After a heavy shower the 5th Cross Street near the Main Street becomes a pool of water and the officers who work in the R.G. Department have to walk across this pool and try to dry their clothes after entering the R.G. Department office.

This building is not suitable for the members of the public who need to go there to get their work done. The employees of this office also suffer severely when they have to walk across the pools of water to reach their work place.

The British Administration in their wisdom never had a public office anywhere in the Pettah area although the roads at that time were much less crowded and there were much less traffic.

It is said that at the time the R.G. Department was in Kollupitiya, the Department owned a suitable land in the Battaramulla area and action could have been taken to put up a building there or rent out a building in an easily accessible location.

It would be quite appropriate if an inquiry could be held to find out why this important Department was taken to this most unsuitable location.

The public of Sri Lanka deserve better treatment than this.

L. M. SAMARASINGHE - Boralesgamuwa

Animal Rights

I refer your article with regard to animal rights in Sri Lanka and wish to applaud your newspaper for taking this stand. I urge and encourage your country and your newspaper to continue down this path of genuine concern for ‘all creatures great and small’ and the voiceless.

In a world where gentleness is a commodity of attrition, it is us and vessels through vessels such as yours that can reach out and appeal to the spirit of concern in our fellow man. Please make such articles a regular feature in your medium.

Let the world indeed see that Sri Lanka is a nation filled with beauty, both inner and outer. You will be blessed I assure you and so will your nation. God bless you all.

G. Joseph - Australia