Power, faster

The Government's decision to expedite the Norochcholai coal power project could not have come at a better time when several development schemes are about to get off the ground especially the ambitious Eastern Reawakening programme which would place a heavy demand on the country's power sector.

With predictions of a looming power crisis in 2010, one wonders whether we have taken adequate measures to tide over the crisis when it does occur. All past Governments should bear responsibility for dilly dallying with power projects that should by now been half way through to their completion.

Instead much time was wasted fighting with environmentalists and other lobby groups while the demand for power rose by leaps and bounds with rapid industrialisation and other gigantic development projects around the country.

Hence the decision to accelerate the Norochcholai project should be viewed in this light. Had the Mahaweli project too not been telescoped to five years what would have befallen the country's energy sector is anyone's guess.

Steps should have been taken long ago to accelerate power projects that were in the pipeline if a calamity of great consequences to the economy was to be averted.

However the progress in finding alternative power sources for hydro power had been markedly slow and our over-reliance on fuel driven power sources has made Sri Lanka an unviable destination for investors, given the prohibitive cost of electricity.

Hence the Government should attempt to start power generating projects with short gestation periods until the mega schemes are commissioned if we are to tide over the immediate crisis. Steps should also be taken to grant relief to domestic consumers who are today crushed under soaring electricity bills.

Besides it has also had a direct impact on the cost of living due to electricity forming a seizable component in overhead costs. Today a unit cost of electricity in Sri Lanka is way above that in countries like India making us an unattractive prospect for investors.

The Government should think of looking for cheaper power sources like wind power and have mini hydro projects in the vicinity of waterfalls as in other countries which collectively will ease the burden on the energy sector.

Above all it should launch a massive power conservation campaign to curb waste and also trim the fat at the CEB which is adding to the cost of domestic electricity bills.

Smoke them out

At last the authorities have taken a firm decision to put all belching vehicles out of the roads. According to the new legislation to be brought before Parliament shortly all vehicles will be required to undergo a 'smoking test' to qualify for the revenue licence.

Smoke tests will be made compulsory for all vehicles once the new law comes into effect according to Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma. The Minister was firm that no revenue licences will be issued to vehicles causing air pollution.

The city of Colombo is clogged with vehicular traffic and one sometime notices a grey smog enveloping the atmosphere caused by vehicle emissions. Among the teeming vehicles are those belching jalopies chugging away emitting thick black smoke into the environment.

What is ironic is to see policemen who are supposed to act to arrest these vehicles themselves wearing handkerchief masks to escape the noxious fumes. Readers' columns in the press abound with complaints of the dangerous health risks caused by vehicle pollution since it has been discovered that the lead content in petrol fumes could lead to cancer.

It is strange that the authorities had been turning a Nelsonian eye to this issue all these years while the problem keeps getting aggravated. It is also strange to notice the inaction in this regard by the Central Environment Authority and other environmentalists who are keen to protect animal and plant species, more than being concerned with the threat to human lives.

It would be interesting to conduct research to find out the number of patients affected by the direct consequences of inhaling vehicle emissions and the impact of this on the national health budget.

In the past too there have been similar action proposed to deal with vehicle pollution on the highways but nothing seems to have happened and the offenders carry on in their merry way spewing poisons into the atmosphere.

They are inhaled by the public at grave risk to their health. We hope Minister Alahapperuma who is known for his no nonsense approach would once and for all tackle the problem effectively and make our roads pleasant for their users.

Steps should also be taken to deal with Industrial pollution that is going on unchecked with the same dreaded consequences. A coordinated effort is called for with the involvement of relevant Ministries to plan out environmentally friendly cities and landscapes that would be pleasing to the eye and devoid of all health risks.