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If one loses the ID card, one has to get a police report and submit
it to the Grama Sevaka to obtain a new one. The hassle one has to
undergo at the Dehiwela Police Station to obtain the police report, to
say the least, is terrible.
First you have to go to the Police station and wait for the PC to
take down your complaint. There is only one complaint book in the Police
station and all sorts of complaints, including criminal cases, assault,
theft etc.
All are hand written in this book by the PC. In addition to the queue
waiting to make complaints about their various grievances, sometime one
has to wait for the book to come to the complaint counter, for it may
have been taken for various other purposes! Many a time, one waits for
the whole day only to be told to come on another day!
If one is lucky to get the complaint written, then the problem is not
over. They have to come back again with a letter requesting the OIC
requesting him to release a copy.
You may have to come several times to get his signature on this
letter for he may not be available or may be busy to sign. If you are
lucky to get his signature you will certainly be asked to come on
another day, usually a week later to get the copy written.
When you come back, again the book may be missing, or you have to
wait in a queue for the copy to be written, for the PC may be busy or
just lazy and you are at their mercy until actually this copy is handed
over to you.
Once I saw a female PC just looking at the ceiling and waiting for
over 15 minutes while a complainant patiently waited for the copy to be
written. He was scared to ask her to write lest she gets angry. She at
last started writing at her own cool time.
All these while, we have to be extra cautious going out on the roads
for at every corner the police and army are checking your ID card.
Surely, we are living in the 21st century! Even the typewriter is
obsolete now but here we are still handwriting the complaints! When even
people in remote villages are using computers and photocopy machines
right in the center of Colombo we have to undergo these painful
experiences! Even centuries earlier this simple task would have been
much quicker.
Why not make the lives of the citizens and the poor overworked PC's
simpler by:
1. Giving pre-printed forms asking for all details of the ID card,
how it is lost etc. to be filled by the complainant.
2. As soon as it is submitted issue a copy (either original filled in
duplicate or take a photocopy) duly signed by the OIC or an elected
officer and franked.
Such simple procedures will make life easier both for the common man
and the police officers, save a lot of man-hours and further, the police
station less of a terrorizing place. After all, the Law officers must be
the friends of the common man not the oppressors!
DR. MAREENA THAHA REFFAI,
Dehiwela
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Open letter to Chairman, Water Board :
We are a group of mothers who meet often to address the day-to-day
problems of all communities in the Enderamulla area.
It is very sad to note that the Gongitota Road leading up to the
railway station, Enderamulla is a broken road which is half tarred on
one side and with half gravel on the other side.
For the past 6-7 months, thanks to you Chairman of the Water Board
and your lethargic team of workers, the road that was well paved for
thousands of pedestrians and schoolchildren and elderly people is now a
sight for sore eyes for all of us.
Most vehicles go on the tarred side and three-wheelers have knocked
down many a child and old person due to your utter negligence.
Your workers have dug up the road on one side and left a deep dent on
the road right along up to the station which fills up with water during
the rainy season and people have to walk through floods to get to their
destination. We wonder what the Pradeshiya Sabha, Palath Sabha and some
of the Ministers are interested in or do they only repair the roads
before an election so that they could walk through it comfortably?
We were informed that your Board is still giving a water connection
to people, but so far for the last three months we have neither seen
your workers or people from the Road Authority tarring this road and
make it passable for the people. Please get the experienced people who
know the job instead of people who do not know what to do and still keep
this road in the disastrous state it is today.
Take a ride Mr. Chairman with a representative from the Road
Development Authority, so that you will understand the difficulties
people undergo daily.
D. Vanhoff,
Enderamulla
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Further to the letter of Dr. A. Nandakumar on the above subject (DN
March 14). I do not think there is anything wrong in consuming meat,
which should be left to the individuals to decide. Accordingly, nothing
should be prohibited, unless it is harmful to society.
There are several non buddhists who do not consume meat, which
obviously is not due to compulsion but, because they are animal lovers
or for some other reason.
However, what is required is to slaughter such animals under humane
conditions, which in most cases is not being attended to bringing
discredit to society and the country.
Accordingly, let's hope that the latter condition would receive the
required attention.
TOMMY WANIGESINGHE,
Kurunegala
----
Wow! What an interesting letter Dr. Mareena Thaha Reffai (MTR) had
written about love(or whatever she'll like to call it...) Practically
makes me sick!
Putting it simply dear lady, why don't you keep your religious
beliefs to yourself. Most of us believe that marriage follows love not
vice versa! And that's our prerogative.
For every story you mentioned about a tragic love affair, there's one
that had a happy ending!
MTR; do you honestly want everyone who gets a crush or infatuation to
tell their parents and get married? Or else just pretend that it doesn't
exist and move on aimlessly with our lives?
We first get to know the person, through meeting, calling, SMS'ing
etc. in contrast to brainlessly taking the plunge into marriage!
Events like Valentine's Day are made for lovers, and those who are
willing to fall in love not for emotionless individuals who believe that
love is dictated by a piece of paper called the marriage certificate!
Don't get me wrong, marriage is a sacred bond. but a bond which most of
us only want to experience after fully getting to know the other party
emotionally, mentally and yes even to an extent, physically!
Immoral! I hear those purists shout... well, too bad for you!
The future belongs to those who aren't afraid to dream the future
belongs to the dreams of the young! We make our own judgments, make our
own decisions, and when needed, ask for the counsel of our parents, who
have raised us to take responsibility for our actions!
Sure, we'll make mistakes, but it's a price we are gladly willing to
pay and we will not be suppressed by people like you MTR. 3 cheers for
those young (and old!) lovers, married or unmarried who defy these
pre-historic social norms and make waves in a culture which has
historically been known as backward!
Good on you guys, keep fighting for what you believe in regardless of
the trappings of society or some of its more conservative individuals!
RICHARD FERNANDO,
Colombo 7, via email
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On the face of it, it appears to be an interesting project as far as
it is seen as an archaeological academic exercise.
Reference news items (DN March 14) Is the Government and other
organisations committed to keep these projects adequately funded, so
that the fifteen young monks who will be credited with the Diploma
Certificate and others will benefit from it? Is there any reason why
only monks are selected for this course? Is it because there will be no
employment prospects in this field for laymen?
There is no doubt that these ancient techniques should be examined
and preserved for historical and archaeological reasons. But surely we
are not going back to these techniques as a way of recording data?
GEORGE MAHARAGE,
via email |
