It is positively delightful to see the many red vehicles on the
Colombo Galle Road scenario outnumbering other vehicles.
It speaks much for planned foresight in administration. Yet, sad to
say, more buses on the road clearing bus queues does not ever mean
comfortable travelling which also should have come hand in hand with the
transformed scenery.
We have still to cope with - body hurled swings and swerves, gravity
defying starts and take-offs, knee buckling/jarring breaking, trapped
perilous foot board passengers etc.
These devious out-landish trends of many of the SLTB drivers should
have been eliminated alongside the change of the progressed bus
services.
It is quite unfortunate that this very important aspect and element
in the operation of the bus services has gone simply overlooked.
A simple surveillance in civvies by the much reputed Driver Training
School staff on a planned and systematic check regularly for some months
will positively give more meaning and significance to a meaningful
effort at hand.
W. MEADOWS , Dehiwala
Now there is a trend of youth unrest in the educational institutions
- universities and even in some leading schools. Now and then we read in
the print media that some students in some leading schools clash
resulting in severe injuries to some students.
This is said to be due to the lack of discipline in schools owing to
the fact that some teachers think that their duty is to go to the class
and to teach their subject only. They are not concerned about the
discipline or the character formation of their students.
When a clash occurred, what happens now is to mete out severe
punishment to those students who are involved.
However this alone would not solve the problem. To overcome these
situations, concrete and far reaching actions have to be taken. The
responsibility should not be placed only on the educational authorities.
Even the other organisations in the society too must try to assist the
young school children to become exemplary citizens in future.
In this regard, the Kandy YMBA has set a good example. They have got
the leading schools in Kandy town to form their own Young Men’s and
Young Women’s Buddhist Associations, and later they will be combined to
form one union.
Then it is affiliated to the Kandy YMBA and various activities have
been organised - such as oratorical contests, essay writing contests,
drama and singing contests. General knowledge in Dhamma contests, etc.
and prizes are offered to the best students or student groups.
Also now and then, they are given the opportunity of listening to the
lectures delivered by prominent citizens.
It appears that this programme is highly appreciated by the students,
teachers and parents by their attendance at annual general meetings and
prize giving ceremonies etc.
It is also worth mentioning here that the principals and teachers of
those schools render their full co-operation for this programme.
Therefore Kandy YMBA is ever grateful to them for the great interest
they take for the welfare of their own students.
We hope that the YMBAs or any other organisations in other leading
towns too, would follow suit and assist the school authorities to find a
solution to this ever increasing problem of student unrest and also to
assist them for the character building of the students under their
charge.
A. W. G. MUDIYANSE
Kandy
Whatever some may say we could confidently predict that our country
is at present positively on the correct path, moving steadily towards
the targeted objective with massive development work initiated along
with high optimistic education attentiveness well indicative,
notwithstanding the existing crisis it had been endlessly faced with for
the last quarter centaury. This could be considered as an effective and
enthusiastic rehabilitation.
Though the country expected to envisage tremendous advantageous with
the introduction of the open economy during the year 1977, the
disadvantages that developed instantly and thereafter had affected to
some damaging extent for they being not timely arrested and of these the
worst that we could do observe was the lack of attention focused towards
the education of advanced technology which had already resulted the
country to remain notably backward and to recover from this, further
great enthusiasm towards this need has to be infiltrated.
Accordingly, in facilitating this worthy course, inviting business
capitalists of developed nations to invest in our country especially in
manufacturing trade including motor vehicles and many other marketable
products, which are at present being imported has to be accelerated; by
which it would be an eye-opener for our entrepreneurs to be on par with
them and thereafter they would be followed by the next generation who
would be by then optimistic with the required technological education.
Countries that are already advanced in this technology have already
manufactured robots and these robots are gradually becoming part of the
day-to-day lives of the people of those countries and in accordance with
a report of the International Federation of Robotics, about two million
personal robots were in use in those countries during the year 2004 and
they expect another seven million to be installed by 2008. The Ministry
of Information and Communication in South Korea states in an article
that they do hope to put a robot in every home there by 2013.
The Japanese Robot Association has also predicted a vast expansion in
the robot industry and these man-made robots would soon be put to
maintain dangerous industrial machines, the magnificent event that would
be envisaged in future would be the Robots assisting health care works
to diagnose and treat patients who may be thousands of miles away.
Shantha de Silva
Kottawa
Most often than not huge monster like private buses stop to drop/pick
up passengers at the point where Nawala Road joins Parliament Road.
After having prevented us behind these private buses turning left and
moving towards Buller’s Road, these buses turn right and move towards
the Parliament. How selfish! Do they care?
Similarly I’ve seen ambulances behind vehicles moving on Elvitigala
Road, being blocked at the turn off to Kirimandala Mawatha. These
ambulances carry patients. All these take place because drivers do not
keep to the lanes despite reminders in big letters. The police must do
something about all these. Vehicles must stick to lanes. Can something
be done, as soon as possible?
SYDNEY KNIGHT
Rajagiriya
Reference the article on Philip Gunewardena which appeared in the
Daily News on March 26, I wish to state that Mr. Gunewardena had his
secondary education up to the Cambridge Junior at Prince of Wales
College where he passed as a student of Prince of Wales College in 1916,
before he left for Ananda.
TOM MENDIS
Moratuwa
The LTTE terrorists will carry on with their propaganda with the help
of their diaspora and sympathisers around the world, in spite of them
losing the war. (Reference DN April 7) So the only option is to totally
destroy them quickly through their weakest link, than handle the rest of
the world.
Outside Sri Lanka, they have built credible and high positions in the
private and Government institutions and funding their cause rapidly.
I think the best thing we can do is clean our backyard of terrorists
immediately. then we can help clean the world.
EDDY FERNANDO
via emali |
