• Holding the public to ransom

• Inaugural sessions of the CMC
   

• Discrimination under Traffic law
   
• Firearms, ammunition and sirens

• Power crisis

• If the cost of living is too high...

   

  
  
  Holding the public to ransom

I can well appreciate the reluctance of a Government installed by the electoral process, not wishing to incur the displeasure of influential Trade Unions. But is that a good enough reason to allow the public to be held to ransom by Government doctors and the railway and postal employees.

The same goes for employees of the Government funded Corporations such as the CEB, Port and Petroleum. It behoves the highest judiciary in the land to step in and bail out the Government by banning strikes of public servants and employees of Government funded Corporations.

The Indian Supreme Court has very recently done precisely this, so why not in Sri Lanka? A new machinery however, needs to be put in place, to enable the workers to have their grievances adjudicated expeditiously.

SIDAT SRI NANDALOCHANA, Colombo 4.

Inaugural sessions of the CMC

Thanks to the mass media we were able to the see on our TV screens the violence that erupted at the inaugural sessions of the CMC.

The pertinent question is: how does one view this type of behaviour by the new MMCs? I think that we are all part of this new culture of violence.

These persons, who behaved in the most unparliamentary fashion possible, are all part of us: our homes, our places of education and worship. They are all products of our society.

Unless and until there is a paradigm shift in our behaviour, and a new mindset, we will continue to have this culture of violence.

In the meantime, our children in our homes and our students in our schools, if they had seen this behaviour on TV, must be wondering as to how they should behave to solve conflicts. For it is not uncommon for students to use violence to handle conflict.

It is no good saying that violence is prevalent always and everywhere. We have to address this matter and that too, soon. So the responsibility is ours. In our homes and places of education and worship, we have to teach us to how conflicts must be resolved/handled and managed.

May we do that soon, so that our society can be saved from this type of ugly behaviour.

SYDNEY KNIGHT, Rajagiriya.

Discrimination under Traffic law

The Sri Lanka Traffic Laws and regulations have lopsided categories in classifying vehicles into their respective Classes. This note is to highlight the inconvenience caused to me as an individual and I am sure many other citizens will benefit by taking proper action to rectify the situation.

The category for light vehicles and heavy vehicles have been based not on the weight of the vehicle rather a flimsy association of the prefix number of the registration numerals. e.g. The Land Cruiser CJ 78 Vehicle I drive has the 61- 1516 number plate is classified as a heavy vehicle.

The same brand and make vehicle with 32- xxxx is classified as a light vehicle just because it carries the prefix of 32 rather than 61.

I came to know this monumental blunder at a traffic police check point to my utter amazement on July 25 at Negombo.

I am a professional Engineer who runs my own business and travels around Sri Lanka in the said Jeep, since 2004.

For my travel purposes the Class C, C1 category of licence is adequate, which entitles me to drive light vehicles.

When I applied for the said licence the application form did not mention the weight limits associated with the category of the vehicles under C, C1 but merely mentioned light vehicles or dual purpose vehicles.

If it did have a clear indication of the weight Category under which my Jeep, which weighs around 2200 Kg, I would have a clear idea which category my vehicle belongs and would have obtained a proper Category licence.

Now according to the Traffic Police officer (who was quick enough to fill the fine paper for not possessing a proper licence even before I get down to explain that I just came to know through him that my vehicle falls under heavy category) I should go and get a heavy vehicle Category licence.

Now I do not have a problem with that if that is the same for the people who drive Land Cruiser CJ 78 vehicles with the 32- xxxx sort of numbers. Otherwise I am going to seek legal action for Fundamental Rights Violation against the Commissioner of Motor vehicles.

Unless I pay the fine there is going to be a Court case against me for violation of the traffic law of the land.

Now my question is what is the legal position for the 32- xxxx number Land Cruiser owners who drive exact same make and weight class vehicles under C, C1 category of drivers Licence? I can provide many witnesses to this effect.

During my lengthy discussion with the traffic OIC at Negombo police I figured there are other blunders like particular make of mini vans falling under heavy duty vehicle category which probably be lighter than my Jeep too.

As a professional and a law abiding citizen, I would like Justice with Equality as professed by the word itself.

Otherwise I am not going to shake my fundamentals off and be a walking Zombie by abiding stupendous, moronic regulation which violates the fundamental right of equal treatment under the law of the land.

I humbly request the Commissioner to explain the skewed logic behind this particular legal imparity and take immediate action to rectify this by classifying vehicles according to their weight class like it has been always in this country and any other countries around the world.

I do not need a heavy duty driver's licence and I do not intend to obtain one as I am not going to drive a heavy vehicle or not seeking employment as a heavy vehicle driver.

AJITH BORALUGODA, via email.

Firearms, ammunition and sirens

It is a well-known fact that the late President Premadasa gifted lorry load of arms and ammunition to the LTTE during his regime. Now, the leader of the Opposition Wickramasinghe presents sirens to the border villagers for their protection. Really a joke.

My personal view is that the UNP should withdraw the weapons and ammunition distributed by the late President and issue to the border villagers leaving Prabhakaran to present sirens among the LTTE cadres.

It's the best solution to the ethnic conflict.

MAHINDA NIHAL PERERA, Moratuwa.

Power crisis

There is no doubt that there is a power crisis in the country. What this means briefly, is that demand has outstripped the supply of affordable power. May I outline below a democratic approach of possible solutions to the problem.

We will create a people's force that will resist the use of power, look for alternatives and downgrade power as a whole. We will tax the use, importation and manufacture of machinery and appliances that use power, and increase the tax on those who use power and use the funds generated from these taxes to subsidise the cost of power, so that we may provide cheaper power.

This is a good opportunity to be proactive in the provision of power to an impoverished market thereby maximizing the creation of profits. To enable this we will create a huge fund from available borrowings and invite the world's power brokers here.

Thereby with the abundant availability of power we can achieve a growth rate in excess of 10%.

Power is a corruptible force and a creation of the reactionary west with a view to colonizing down trodden nations such as ours. We will ban the use of power and revert to indigenous methods of power thereby freeing our people from the clutches of western nations.

Power is essential for our daily lives, we have therefore organised a series of ceremonies to invoke blessings on provision of power which will include, almsgivings, prayer meetings, fasting, lighting of candles and other activities that will free the demons and other creatures that have a stranglehold on power that should rightfully belong to us.

In our society we do have our choices so please use them.

M. B., Moratuwa.

If the cost of living is too high...

Rising cost of living is an uneasy burden. So the consumers always bring it to the notice of any elected government which is expected to take necessary steps to relieve them of that burden.

However, the truth is that the COL can never be reduced. For example, a cup of tea which was 5 cts. in 1960, is Rs. 5 today, and a bun which was 10 cts. in 1960, is Rs. 10 today; and a gallon of petrol which was Rs. 2.50 then, is Rs. 418 today, and so on and on.

Successive governments in whichever hue have failed to stall this phenomenal rise because it is beyond their control. What they did was to increase the salaries. For instance, a mason who was paid Rs. 5 per day in 1960 is now paid Rs. 800 a day.

Therefore the most sensible thing is for us to realise that we too have a responsibility to ease the burden of cost of living that is pressing on us. We have to stop blaming the government for everything.

Since it is we who are the most affected, we must plan our expenses according to the income we get without blaming the government or any other for our own ills and pains. We must take positive measures to overcome the effect of the rising cost of living.

So the first lesson we have got to follow is to refrain from smoking, drinking, gambling and taking drugs. That will certainly stabilise and strengthen the income of about 80% of the families.

Then there will be health, peace and cordiality at home, the key to a happy household. We must tap our own conscience and ask the question whether we are fair by ourselves and our families.

Even a lowest paid harbour worker who gets Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 will find the income not enough if he is engaged in one or more of those vices mentioned above.

E. M. G. EDIRISINGHE, Dehiwela.