• Free for students

• Airs of air travel

• White treatment

• LTTE and Norway

• 'The curse of the LTTE'

• Target killings
  
  
  
  Free for students

The new proposals by the Minister of Transport to permit school children to travel free in buses has to be greatly applauded.

The present school hours are from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the buses that ply from about 7 a.m. to 7.45 a.m. are fully crowded with people who go for employment in private institutions and also for their own work with no seating accommodation for same.

During this period it will be extremely difficult for any person to board a bus in between the starting point and its destinations.

I have experienced this daily in the mornings in my area.

In crowded buses of this nature at present schoolchildren undergo immense hardships travel with bags full of books on their shoulders and also with bottles of water in their hands with no seating accommodation.

According to the new proposal of the Minister there will be an increase in the number of schoolchildren to travel by bus. It will also be boring for them to decide on their destinations in crowded buses as some schools are away from the main road along a small road or a path on either side of the main road.

If the Hon'ble Minister could make arrangements to ply special buses only for schoolchildren during the above period and also from 2 p.m. to 2.45 p.m. the problem could be solved.

Dhanapala Patabendi, Ambalangoda.

Airs of air travel

I write to you so that my fellow citizens, flying on our much publicised, national airline, SriLankan Airlines will be aware of the trials and tribulations that could beset them whenever they used our airline. I give below the details.

My daughter arrived in Colombo from London, flying SriLankan Airlines on 20th March 2006. My granddaughter did likewise on 31st March 2006, the counterfoil of her boarding pass and baggage check ticket safe in her handbag.

She checked in at Heathrow, was assigned seat No. 34, boarded the craft, was shown her seat, which she took.

A little later a hostess asked her if she could relinquish her seat to a teenage girl, who wished to sit with her parents. This girl had also been allocated seat No. 34. My granddaughter readily gave up her seat and was given one by the hostess, which was one that is usually kept free for the crew members and was situated at the very back of the craft, by the toilets.

My daughter and granddaughter were scheduled to leave for London together on the same flight both seats having been booked earlier and confirmed.

On the afternoon of 13 April my daughter called the SriLankan Airlines office for reconfirming her's and her daughter's seats (just in case!).

She was told on the phone, by a SriLankan Airlines person that her seat was OK, but her daughter had been taken off the flight as they had no record of her having 'Shown up in Colombo'!!

You can imagine our consternation and disbelief on hearing this when this 'no showing up' person was right beside us by the telephone. Somewhere between Heathrow, (having boarded the plane) and Colombo a passenger had vanished!

We were then asked to be at SriLankan Airlines office the next morning on April 14th, Sinhala New Year's day. I accompanied my daughter and granddaughter and we were there at 9.45 a.m.

After a wait of 2 1/2 hours, during which time the person dealing with tried to help us.

She could not get my granddaughter on the original flight which was on 15th April. They suggested a flight on the 16th, which was unsuitable as my granddaughter, a doctor of Psychology in a London hospital had to be at work on the 17th morning.

Finally she was put on the early morning flight on the 15th which was all they could do for her and which we were constrained to accept in the circumstances.

As a result of this carelessness and inefficiency on the part of the employees of SriLankan Airlines, my husband and I aged 90 and 80 respectively had to make two trips to Katunayake airport - one at 9 p.m. on the 14th and the other at 9 a.m. on the 15th.

All this inconvenience and expense should have been spared us. No word of apology was forthcoming let alone financial compensation, which we do not expect. No one expending so much time and money should be put through such an ordeal - no one at all, infact.

G.Y., Colombo 5.

White treatment

I totally agree with Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai. (April 17). This is sometimes irritating, coz, some of our Sri Lankans treat Whites like they (whites)are royalty.

I once walked into a star classed hotel. The guy at the reception did not even bother to look at me, but a little later when a foreigner walked in, this guy stood to welcome him as if he's Santa Clause bringing him all his toys which he asked.

One more place where something like this happened is at a wadiya on the beach. A friend of mine went with some foreigners to dinner. Of course he had not made any reservation. When he walked in, the owner said that there are no tables, but as soon as he saw the foreigner his attitude changed.

These people who treat their fellow citizens should realise that we don't get the same reception when we arrive in European countries etc. And it's our own people who will be there to at least show them around.

CHRISHANTHA DIAS, Via email.

LTTE and Norway

Norway is most interested in the long stretch of the territorial waters of SL - stretching as far down as the Antarctic. The reason is their interest in deep sea oil and whaling.

This is very clear with their recent outbursts at the New Zealand government who is taking a hardline towards whaling around the Antarctic and New Zealand.

Also, if considering the depleting natural resources of fish around Norway and their eagerness in harnessing the oil rich ocean stretches that belong to SL.

Ranil Wickremesinghe must take the full responsibility for letting the LTTE roam free with assistance from Norway, all over the island and for letting up a bogus peace agreement entered into without working out any modalities with the SL government or any consultations with the military.

Furthermore, the military was made to look thieving rogues by exposing sensitive military information such as the famous information leaks of military intelligence.

Ranil's mayhem plans as usual has led the country to a major security threat which forces the lives of the ordinary public, whether Tamil or Sinhala.

This is the result of the Norway engagement which has to be viewed seriously. Norway must step down and this is very important for a genuine peace for SL.

CHANDRIKA DE ALWIS, Via email.

'The curse of the LTTE'

The above article (April 25) caught my eye and I'd like to congratulate the author and the Daily News for expressing the majority of "Sri Lankans' opinion on the ongoing war and the savage acts cursed upon this country by the LTTE.

As a peaceloving and a loyal countryman, I'd like to make some suggestions on how the press can implement a national and an international state of resistance of the LTTE.

Please imply more and more of articles of this nature, exposing the real LTTE, making the readers realize, and hopefully make a decision on how to eleminate this threat.

And I'm sure that if you, one of the main mass media in the land, can make a difference.

NUWAN SHANTHIRATHNE, Via email.

Target killings

If we were to fight the LTTE and at the same time respond to their attacks, we need to ignore the international pundits who force us to have a dialogue with LTTE, (when they themselves do not believe in having dialogues with terrorists), and concentrate target killings, just like some countries do.

This will discourage and demoralise the LTTE and we should begin with the LTTE political and military heirarchy, as soon as possible.

SUNIL VIJAYAPALA, Australia.