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The present Government should be commended for reclaiming lost
territory from the LTTE, without declaring war, instead by merely
defending from being attacked, thereby saving many property and lives,
which I must say is a unique way of achieving same. I have no doubt that
all right thinking people would agree as the right thing to do in a
situation such as ours, where we were compelled to act as above.
The security forces should be commended for making this possible by
their bravery and dedication in achieving same. However, I do not
advocate war as a solution to the above conflict.
Accordingly an early settlement for a permanent solution is necessary
by uniting the South prior to uniting the North and East.
This I believe is the only way to usher in peace and prosperity to
the entire nation which I am confident would be a reality only in the
event of the above being implemented.
TOMMY WANIGESINGHE,
Kurunegala
With the revised electricity tariffs and charges which came into
effect from September 1, a fuel adjustment charge of 20 per cent is to
be levied on all units consumed by all electricity consumers except for
domestic and religious premises and charitable institutions and
consumers who consume less than 90 units per month.
This charge which was once withdrawn has been reintroduced in spite
of an increase in the unit rate from the 31st unit for domestic
consumers and the fixed charge which was earlier Rs. 30 being increased
ranging from Rs. 60 to Rs. 240 this year depending on the consumption
and the point at which VAT is imposed continuing to remain at 40 kwh.
As the new charge will have a far reaching impact on the Cost of
Living, I wish to request the CEB authorities to consider reviewing the
imposition of FAC at least in respect of domestic consumers.
H. W. Goonesekera,
Panadura
I have many an occasion written on the above subject. Being a retired
University academic, I cannot bear to see this going on unabated, with
nobody in authority to stop this.
Television being an audio-visual medium, has a heavy impact on the
young learners.
Therefore the high-ups at TV stations have a sacred responsibility
cast on them. Most of the English words used and pronounced in Sinhala
programmes are incorrect. Just a few instances:-
1. Daily before the ITN news is telecast at 7.00 p.m., a particular
brand of Soya product is advertised and you can hear a female voice
proclaiming "Source Samaga Kiri Pace nomile."
2. Some time back in the tele-drama Mage Kaviya Mata Denna telecast
over Rupavahini, the father portraying a Westernised character and who
occasionally adds an English word or two to the Sinhala dialogue, comes
down the stairs and seeing his wife reading a newspaper, asks her, "What
Are the news?" I nearly dropped dead!
3. Then there is an advertising programme to give publicity to a
novel method of mastering the English language without a teacher, but
with the aid of this person's cassettes! But the irony of it is, this
person who is the teacher (his professional qualifications are never
mentioned) cannot correctly pronounce a word if the vowel 'o' is
preceded by a consonant especially 'd'. He pronounces 'don't' as
'daunt'!
Selling 'English' is good business today, but in the interests of
young learners, please don't (not daunt) prostitute it!
Ranjith Gamini Perera,
Panadura
A rush of frenzied vehicles as if just released from the boundaries
of hell confronts a hapless pedestrian when he gets his ok and chance of
crossing.
This unscheduled situation could be on account of the
tightly/temporarily stopped vehicles blocking any space or thoroughfare
at all on his 'right of way' - one could get through a maze but not
these neatly spaced vehicles and impediment - one really wonders if the
lights are malfunctioning.
One main reason for 'over stopping' of vehicles past the regulated
lights itself should be the cause. A yellow line well before the light
should to a certain extent give room/time for the gentry on foot to get
across safely conveniently.
Many are the near mishaps missed at this point.
Praying for immediate safety yellow line implementation.
W. MEADOWS,
Dehiwala
Richard Fernando's (DN Sep. 12) view on the freedom to dress is
refreshingly honest but predictable from a 22-year-old. He has no
inhibitions about indecent dress codes and opinioned that one should
dress whatever he or she chooses to wear.
I am sure in the fullness of time he will be grumpier like me than a
rambunctious young man! In the real world, every freedom has it's limits
and responsibilities.
For example, Freedom of Speech does not give a person the right to
verbally abuse and tell lies. Similarly, Freedom to Dress does not mean
that one has the right to dress indecently to titillate the baser
instinct of men or women.
We should not overstep our boundary to make others uncomfortable.
Therefore, dress is not only primarily for covering but more
importantly, it contributes towards personal safety, better behaviour,
good manners and speech and modesty. A woman who covers herself is
feminine and dignified but conceals her sexuality.
It is my contention that scantily dressed women are mentally
challenged and need of immediate psychological and spiritual help! I
came across some interesting comments made by the Secretary General of
the Criminal Justice Society of India, R. S. Suri, on the same subject.
He has labelled indecent exposure as a 'social evil' and made a move
to urge their government to either caution or ban women from exposing
their curvy figures in public. He had further commented that, "When
women dress in sexy clothes, it not only promotes lustful thoughts, but
it also encourages men to develop a warped vision of all women - a view
that can cause men to think of and treat all women as sex objects."
A decent dress code is a subject that needs further discussion.
In Islam, dress code (as opposed to dress design) when in public is
decreed with clear instructions with very little room for opinions. It
is mandatory for men to cover at least from midriff to knee and ladies
to cover every part of the body except face and hands up to the wrist.
Be dignified in your dress and behaviour, and let us all be safe than
sorry!
Tuan Riza Rassool,
via email
Block infilling as suggested in the article under the above heading (DN
Sep. 5) is a useful proposition for the tea growers who cannot afford
the cost of tea replanting nowadays.
A good stand of tea bushes per acre is essential to obtain an
economic yield to maintain the plantations in a viable state.
High-yielding clonal tea plants for infilling is as important as the
maintenance of a good stand of tea bushes to achieve the targeted crop
and also to cover the land to check soil erosion and weed growth, which
together, enhance productivity of the field.
If plants of vigorous growth and high yield are used to infill the
vacant patches in uneconomic seedling tea fields, one has to consider
the fertilizer applications, because the vigorous tea bushes need a
special fertilizer mixture or frequent fertilizer applications.
If a normal fertilizer mixture is used in a seedling tea filed
infilled with clonal tea plants, the infilled patches will indicate
nitrogen deficiency in the pale yellowish appearance in the foliage,
which will slow down the growth.
May I suggest an alternative. If the seedling tea is very patchy, it
is advisable, instead of infilling, to phase out the replanting of this
field. A quarter acre of even a less extent according to the
availability of funds, may be replanted with high-yielding tea plants.
The replanting operation must commence from the top of the field.
The replanting of the field must be programmed to be completed over a
few years and clearing land and planting must begin at the top boundary
of the field and come downwards to the bottom of the field, while in the
meantime a cover crop or a suitable grass variety is planted in the
vacant patches to rejuvenate the soil and prevent erosion.
My suggestion will, however, affect the yield of this field whereas
the block filling method suggested in the article under reference may
not reduce the yield to that extent.
The replanting of the entire field with V.P. tea from the top
boundary of the field in stages downwards will be convenient for
management and for better productivity of the field in the long run.
However, block filling is ideal for infilling the vacancies in
replanted fields, using the same clonal material for infilling.
A. C. DE SILVA,
Dehiwala |
