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We in Sri Lanka, probably in common with countries around the world,
tend to go overboard in celebrating commemorating or otherwise focusing
on a plethora of 'Days'...whether it's Universal Children's Day, Elders'
Day, Visually Handicapped Day, Differently Abled Day and so on.
While not decrying that it is a great idea to focus on these special
categories at least once a year, albeit with plenty of hype, publicity
and platitudes, it seems pertinent to wonder what benefits accrue to the
individuals, most in need under these diverse designations.
For instance, on Universal Children's Day, how many of the 4,000
street children (according to the latest statistics) who have little
option but to roam our streets without basic food, clothes or shelter
benefited even by an iota from all the razzmatazz that surrounded its
celebration?
This is quite apart from those children existing in some of our less
than salubrious children's institutions as well as in many refugee camps
in our country.
A positive start, it is hoped has been made after the recent
International Day of the Disabled to help those with disabilities, reach
their full potential by providing them with jobs, access to public
places and other facilities.
However, there isn't even a mention made or any practical help
offered to those who languish, virtually immobile, suffering from
conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Many others are crippled and confined to one place suffering from a
variety of deformities. Their care is left to their long suffering
families or to institutions where they have been dumped who have neither
the financial resources nor the necessary staff and expertise to handle
them adequately.
If there is an in-depth awareness directed towards these and all the
other segments that have such 'Days' set aside for them, it will serve a
useful purpose. Isn't confining it to tamashas etc. that merely provide
another platform for publicity seeking big-wigs to air their platitudes,
only an expensive but futile exercise?
Rita Perera,
Kelaniya
Everyone knows about the rise in the Cost of Living due to the
escalating prices of oil in the world market and the war against
terrorism.
The authorities are unable to pay the Cost of Living allowance
according to the living index as it involves a lot of expenditure and
will pay a much lesser amount, that is Rs. 2,500 per month from January
1, 2007 for all Government servants whereas the correct figure is around
Rs. 3,900 per month.
If we consider the plight of the pensioners, we see that they will
get only half of this lesser amount namely Rs. 1,250 per month from
January 1, 2007.
The pensioners are old and generally over 60 or 65 or perhaps 70
years or more.
They have to regularly incur heavy expenditure on medical
consultations, followed by medical tests which lead to prescriptions for
the daily use of medicine - tablets, capsules etc. for their entire
lifetime. The price of medicine had gone up from 50 to 100 per cent or
so.
Some have to undergo surgery which costs Rupees tens of thousands or
a few lakhs and the pensioner cannot afford to pay the medical bills.
There is no proper medical insurance scheme for the pensioners and there
is absolutely nothing for those over 70 years.
As a pensioner I suggest that the President should intervene in this
matter to rectify this anomaly and pay full Cost of Living allowance to
all pensioners from this Budget, so that it will help to pay their
medical bills.
The older you are, the more you have to spend on medical bills and
discriminating the pensioner with half Cost of Living allowance is not
correct. For example, the Government does not discriminate the Bank
pensioner with half allowance with that of a Bank officer.
I hope that all right thinking individuals and the Pensioners'
Associations will take up this matter to enlighten these facts to the
proper authorities to obtain full Cost of Living payments for all
Government pensioners.
D. D. MEEGODA,
Ratmalana
Any vessel of our Navy has the right to challenge any vessel afloat
in our territorial waters and ask to disclose her identity. It enables
to recognise friend or foe.
The above challenge and the answer to such challenges are transmitted
by internationally accepted and recognised communication methods such as
Morse by light or telegraph or radio signals.
There will be smooth sailing so far as enemy crafts in the disguise
of fishing crafts are not in the vicinity.
The easiest way for the enemy to escape such a challenge is to appear
as fishing crafts, as there is no such challenge for fishing crafts and
there is no recognised secret communication method between our Navy and
our own fishing crafts.
It has to be mentioned that serious consideration will have to be
taken about the ill effects of advanced radio technology used by the
enemy which has reduced the mobile phones etc. to undependable point
owing to over hearing, jamming, interrupting, disturbing etc.
There is now a Sinhala version of the above communication methods
mentioned in para two certified by the intellectual property office and
recognised by the New Inventors Commission as useful.
May the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Fisheries take
suitable steps without delay to make use of the new invention mentioned
above.
Even though as a rule the identity number is displayed on the sides
of the hull; as a duty in practice our fishing crafts should first start
the secret communication with our Navy vessels in the vicinity and
disclose identity without waiting for a challenge, because it will help
to spot the silent enemy in disguise with bogus identity numbers.
Y. AMERASENA DE SILVA,
Ahungalla
Three cheers for 'Batti', and its reaching the triumphant 200th
milestone.
We must really be thankful for the producer for giving us this
wonderful oriental teledrama for us.
We must also be thankful for the exquisitely natural acting of all
the artists, which made us feel for a moment that we were living in it.
Last but not least, we must thank ITN for giving us this and may
there be another 200 episodes for the benefit of viewers.
ANANDI KULATILLEKE,
Matara
I was not at all surprised by events at Yala. In August 2006, we
visited Yala but one incident attracted my attention.
When we toured by a safari jeep, commenced near the Tissamarama lake,
we came near a sea beach within the Yala park and we were not allowed to
venture out to an area, by our tour guide, for no reason.
That place was like a tourist camp of some sort, damaged and
abandoned due to tsunami. I noticed some fresh army type boots and
someone had dragged a couple of dingies to the interior. Later I gave a
bit of thought to this after attending Perahera at Katharagama.
Here I was filming the beginning of the Perahara, where there was a
commotion among some spectators seated in the front.
They suddenly left the area without watching the Perahera, where the
barefooted police commented on the sudden deparure of nearly 30 families
who have been there for hours, without watching the Perahera.
I quickly asked my family to vacate the area asap, expecting a
suicide bomber to detonate. Nevertheless I kept on filming, later to
find that one or two of them had surrendered to the police the next day.
I think the guides that were operating near that lake is connected or
helping the terrorists. It's up to the authorities to check these
people.
NIHAL
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