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While commending the proposed schooling and working hours, I would
like to forward my personal feelings on the present congestions on the
main highways.
RDA and the Traffic Police perform their best services to maintain a
danger-free traffic environment along the main highways. Yet, it is well
understood that roads are not safe for motorists as well as the
pedestrians, due to the fast increasing growth of traffic. It is a
well-known fact that more than 15,000 heavy and light vehicles ply on
four main highways from Matara, Kandy, Chilaw and Avissawella to Colombo
in the morning and late evening during working days. In addition, about
5,000 three wheelers including motor cycles join the fleet adding more
congestions.
Private vehicles carrying schoolchildren commence their journeys
early in the morning from different stations to reach destinations in
Colombo and suburbs before schools begin at 8 a.m. SLTB and private
buses start their daily routine trips with employees and other
passengers from various places to reach Colombo before 8.30 a.m. Same
number of vehicles leave the city in the evening.
If the concerned authorities make necessary arrangements to regulate
the schooling and working hours system into different categories as
shown, a better traffic network without much congestions could
definitely be introduced.
Working hours:
Private Sector - 8. 00 a.m. to 4. 00 p.m.
Govt. Sector - 9. 00 a.m. to 5. 00 p.m.
Schooling hours:
Primary schools - 8.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Secondary schools - 9.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
According to the timetables, vehicles carrying schoolchildren and
employees will operate at four different time schedules to reach Colombo
and suburbs allowing more room to drive, ride and walk on highways.
Police reports reveal that most of the road accidents have occurred
during the peak hours in the morning and evening due to the congested
traffic system. It is not possible to ease the huge traffic congestions
within the frame of present and proposed schooling and working hours.
Please arrange and introduce a danger-free traffic environment,
allowing the drivers, riders and pedestrians to enjoy a very peaceful
journey on the highways.
Mahinda Nihal Perera,
Moratuwa
The recent wide scale and heightened terrorist activity of the LTTE,
and the military responses these have drawn from the Government of Sri
Lanka have exposed the extremely fragile nature of the Ceasefire that
has held for the past four years.
This make or break stage of the Peace Process is a serious reflection
on the achievement of the All Party Conference (APC) initiated by
President Rajapaksa.
The APC succeeded in reaching a southern consensus on the continued
maintenance of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA), the need for a political
solution to the ethnic conflict, and the related resumption of talks
with the LTTE. It is however regrettable that the APC consensus excluded
from itself agreement on what can be proposed as the basis for the
needed political solution.
This left the LTTE free from the pressure of the Tamil people and the
often spoken international community too.
This indicates an avoidance of the peace strategy followed by the PA
Government when it assumed office in 1994.
This was a strategy which, as seen in the Constitutional Amendment
presented to Parliament in August 2001, addressed the Tamil people
independent of the LTTE whilst it left open the way to future
negotiations with the LTTE on what was already part of the country's
Constitution.
The devolution of political power embodied in the amendment had been
agreed to by the main opposition party, the UNP, and all Tamil parties
represented in Parliament. It was no secret that the late Dr. Neelan
Tiruchelvam of the TULF was keenly involved in the drafting of the
amendment.
With the sabotage of this amendment in Parliament, the UNP thereafter
adopted a wholly different strategy with the LTTE being recognised by
the UNP Government of 2002 as the sole representative of the Tamil
people.
It was open to the APC to have moved away from this position by
adopting the basics of the August 2001 Amendment's devolution of
political power as its objective, or by proceeding to adopt the Oslo
agreement.
Such a course would certainly have built among the Tamil people the
confidence that their aspirations could be honourably realised
independent of the Eelam demand of the LTTE. It is unfortunate that this
course was not taken.
Presently the LTTE articulates the position that it has already
established its state in the North. It is unthinkable that any Sri
Lankan Government could accommodate this position in the agenda for
talks with the LTTE.
Nor is it possible to think that the Tamil community could attach any
credibility to this position of the LTTE and leave it to them to solve
its most pressing problems. One instance of such problems was revealed
in recent proceedings in the Supreme Court on fundamental rights
applications that had been filed by persons displaced from their lands
and houses by the demarcation of high security military zones in the
North. For the last 15 years, these displaced persons have been denied
residence in their houses in the zones and the cultivation of their
lands, and fishing in the adjacent sea.
At present, there are a total of 20,365 families so displaced. Of
them 1,679 families consisting of 6,386 persons live in 50 welfare
centres maintained by the Government.
In inquiries made on the directions of the Supreme Court, it has been
found that, of the displaced persons who can be readily traced 7,456
families from 33 Grama Sevaka divisions have expressed their willingness
to get back to their properties and form committees that would ensure
the security of the military encampments.
The LSSP is of the view that where the people of the Northern and
Eastern provinces are assured of an honourable and self respecting
solution to the present conflict, the LTTE will certainly find it
difficult to maintain its totalitarian positions against them.
It is pertinent to recall for our present purposes what the late Dr.
N. M. Perera stated almost 35 years ago on the question of the needed
political solution. In his critical analysis of the 1978 Constitution,
he expressed appreciation of the status given there to the Tamil
language, but warned, "What might have satisfied the Tamil community
twenty years back cannot be adequate twenty years later.
Other concessions along the lines of regional autonomy will have to
be in the offing if healthy and harmonious relations are to be
regained." The APC cannot any longer avoid this question. To maintain
its studied silence on this as is being done at present can only help
the LTTE to maintain its fatal hegemony over a helpless Tamil people.
Wimalasiri de Mel, Secretary,
LSSP
Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe seems to be singing for his supper these
days.
His fastidious thinking cap revealed, a few weeks ago, how in Boston
addressing a group of Tamils he is reported to have said wryly that the
Sri Lankan Government's inability to disarm the paramilitaries was the
major cause for the collapse of the CFA forgetting the fact that only a
month after he signed the CFA, the LTTE commenced their killing spree of
our intelligence cadres.
Obviously Ranil ostentatiously seem to be the 'yes' man of
Prabhakaran. Ranil's consistent belief that he understands Prabhakaran's
mind is obviously a myth.
It's best if he bears in mind the linguist Dr. F. R. Leavis'
definition of 'Understanding'.
Understanding is not a mere group of ideas but a perceptive wisdom
about ends.
ABHAYADEVA HULLUGALLA,
Pilimatalawa
If Sri Lanka is no exception to the norm that, 'what is price marked
of a salable item and displayed in a shop should be charged the same
price as on the label', then the Consumer Affairs Authority's attention
should focus on the Keells Super grade Supermarket in Borella where this
regulation is blatantly violated.
I have a collection of receipts and relative price labels carefully
preserved for inspection where Keells Supermarket is allegedly
overcharging customers. With my monitoring, only one item (DCSL Old
Arrack), I find that I have been always charged Rs.435 as against the Rs.
410 price marked on the bottle.
As a price comparison, I tried the private liquor shop only a stone's
throw away from this Supermarket along Dr. N. M. Perera Mawatha (towards
Borella junction), I was shell shocked to learn their price as Rs. 460
for the same DCSL Old Arrack! I experienced the same thing even at the
Arpico supermarket at Battaramulla having paid Rs. 435 for a bottle
which had priced label on the bottle as Rs. 410.
'This is a serious breech of the Consumer Law', as I understand from
the offices of the Consumer Affairs Authority. Cashiers say bottles may
be coming with old price tags and their computers are programmed to
charge Rs. 435. Therefore, dear Chairman, Consumer Affairs Authority,
let us see justice and price control prevail in this specific area.
No wonder frustrated consumers comment that in Sri Lanka 'only rain
comes down and not the prices'.
Dr. TILAK S. FERNANDO,
Colombo 8
Container trailers have fast invaded our suburban sidewalks much to
the annoyance of pedestrians. Bad enough we don't have concrete
pavements but alas even the rough sidewalks we use have now been turned
into parking lots for stationary trailers.
When they are not transporting goods they should be confined to
authorised parking yards or lots without posing a hazard to pedestrians.
We hope this note will catch the attention of the traffic police.
A. P.,
Hendala |
