Tea - Health drink or health hazard

Tea is supposed to be a health drink and it is a product made entirely from natural tea leaves. At no stage of the process any other substance or ingredient is added and precautions are taken to harvest only the leaf free from any contamination of chemicals, as tea bushes are receiving various ‘boost ups’ in the form of foliar spray.

Leaf from fields’ receiving foliar spray will be given a rest before harvesting leaf to ensure that there are no chemical particles left in the leaf collected to produce tea. These norms are practiced by all good manufacturers.

However, certain Regional Planation Companies do not seem to believe in these norms. At a surprise check carried out by the officials of the Tea Board recently to an upcountry tea factory managed by an RPC, it was revealed that certain chemicals are added to the green leaf at the rolling stage.

The management has accepted that they have done so in order to enhance the quality of tea. This is a gross violation of the provisions the Tea Control Act, beside the harm done to the reputation of Ceylon Tea.

One cannot rule out the possibility of deliberate attempt by interested parties to blacklist Sri Lankan tea in the international market by resorting to sabotage of this nature. Right now, many attempts are made by local and international agencies to cripple the economy of the country in order to fulfil their malicious objectives and this may be one link in the chain.

We are reputed to add papaw seeds to pepper; plaster of paris to hoppers and gullible masses simply swallow them without a hum, but the international community may not be that gullible.

It is time that the Government and its agencies take a tough stand and effect deterrent punishments to those guilty to prevent the tea industry from being ruined by the saboteurs.

KUMARADASA JAYASINGHE Ehaliyagoda

Marine Drive

We should appreciate the various road development programs in the island initiated by the Government in recent years. Where ever it is initiated, one can see some are completed while other projects are under work in progress. Since the war is over with Mahinda Chinthana we will be able to see many progress in the country’s development.

With this in mind, the Government and the authorities should initiate the completion of Marine Drive as soon as possible. It is an overdue project. Almost a kilometer is left at present and completion is not impossible considering the amount of work done by this committed government in a short period islandwide. I appeal to the authorities to complete the Marine Drive at the earliest.

A.C. Colombo 3

Bouquet for Sri Lanka Telecom, Wattala

The other day I visited the Telecom, Wattala in connection with my IDD line. I was simply amazed at vastly improved customer service.

As you enter the office, you are accosted by a female officer as to the purpose of your visit and no sooner you mention what you need to be done, she presses a button and the machine ejects a token with the number of the desk at which your matter will be attended to. In a matter of minutes, your token number is displayed on the electronic device and you walk to the particular desk and your matter is attended to by a courteous staff with all alacrity.

This new exhilarating experience is in contract with the vexatious experience that customers had to face some years ago at this very office, I can still recall an instance when a female customer, after waiting for months and months to transfer her line from her former residence and driven from pillar to post, nearly created a scene by openly blaming the officials of not doing justice for the pay they receive and she got the job done, the same day!

Now what a change! The SLT is no longer the sluggish, listless, time wasting entity it used to be. It is now a streamlined, lively and time - conscious organization. It is high time that other public offices too took a cue from Telecom Wattala to provide better service to the public.

CR Wattala

Private hospital in Colombo charges Rs. 300 for plastic chair

This particular private hospital was charging Rs. 200 as hospital charges from a patient for providing accommodation to consult a specialist doctor. They increased it to Rs. 250 just a few months back and now they have again increased it to Rs. 300 within a very short period of time for providing the same plastic chair for patients until doctors arrive.

When I went to get an appointment with my specialist doctor on April 4, 2009 in the receipt issued to me reflected Rs. 400 as consultant’s fees and Rs. 300 as charges for the same plastic chair. Easy way of taxing poor innocent patients.

This is how the so-called social workers help the poor people of this country. Their sole motive is more and more publicity up to the grave and nothing else.

P.B.P. Kelaniya

Vehicle emission tests

Most of the parties who carry out these emission tests does not know how to do these tests and is not qualified to handle these tests correctly. They do not have the basic know how and are only novices who are there just to find an employment for their upkeep only. These people are a disgrace to the engineering and technical fraternity.

These people who can throw some funds for investment take in these youngsters as employees to man these stations and go for the kill without any consideration for the public. They presume that all are fools just like they themselves. I give below the harrowing experience I underwent from these ill-trained people some months ago. The worst is that when some one points out the defect in the system adopted, they try to be experts without knowing even the basics.

The general terminology and meaning of engineering is modern technology with general knowledge

Emission test report

Date of Issue 14.2.09 10.06.36 a.m.

No. CSF 15-00001882 From 10.04 to 10.06 a.m.

Vehicle No. PB 5598 Overall Status fail

Engine temperature 80 does not say

stated; farenheight or celcius

But please note that this temperature was not recorded from the water temperature and or engine chamber temperature.

Under the accepted principal the engine temperature means Water Temperature taken under sealed, conditions. The water temperature is taken with the system sealed to prevent leak out of pressure, and at normally at around 10 psi. This is the engine temperature universally accepted method.

Even if the oil or other temperatures are considered then it has to be taken from a sealed system, with internally fitted probes. The engine temperature has to be taken with the engine bonnette closed, and not open. This is the correct method of taking the engine temperature.

When I informed this over the phone to one senior officer I was curtly told how can you take the engine temperature from an Air Cooled engine like from the VW vehicle. This person does not know how to measure the engine temperature of an air-cooled engine.

When the test failed on questioning I was told that the injectors or the air filter is defective.

But on the same day at 11.53 a.m. they tested the same vehicle and passed it with the engine temperature at 85. How come I had not attended to the injectors or the air filter at all.

The boys at the station does not know a clue as to how these tests has to be done, and there is no one who knows about emission testing to answer a simple question.

Can these experts say which engine maker or which test authority shall permit to take the oil temperature from a open probe and at the level they take to equate the engine temperature as equal to an engine temperature with the water temperature.

Under normal conditions the water boils at 100 degrees C at atmospheric pressure. But when you apply an extra pressure of 10 psi the boiling temperature has to go up further. And if the water temperature is recorded with an open engine then what these people are doing is all-incorrect.

If these people are trying all these sorts of inexperience then they must be penalized, and asked to compensate the extra costs incurred by us in travelling twice or more times and also offset the extra other expenses incurred by way extra works as specified by them.

Further, if a first test fails they must specify why the tests has failed and then must be able to rectify such defects in house and or say what has to be done in writing and if not corrected they must foot the bill for such foolish specifications.

Why not the RMV, Environmental authorities get involved in rectifying this type of blunder.

Eng. W. P. H. Jayawickrema Miae Moratuwa

Maga-Neguma

The President is totally right in the comments he make on Quality. May I elaborate on one that I have often observed when contractors are re-carpeting roads in Sri Lanka.

I am sure they do not control the temperature of the mixture used and these workers do not understand that there is a softening point for pitch, controlling which, you get the maximum adhesion/binding. I have seen pitch barrels being softened using firewood, by the side of the road, without any control of the temperature.

Part of it is wasted as gases and part of it will get converted to carbon (soot) which will reduce the adhesive properties. That is one reason, I think, these carpeted roads perish very fast. In so-called developed countries, traffic can start moving on carpeted roads just within one hour after the road is laid. Why this cannot be done in Sri Lanka is something our road engineers and experts have to look into.

I am no expert in this field, but I have mentioned what I have seen. Now that the President himself is getting informed about Quality work and is very much interested in cutting down on waste and rash work, I think it is high time for others also to wake up.

L. de Silva

Rebirth through hypnosis

Reference the letter published on June 25 titled ‘Rebirth through hypnosis’ by Dharmapala Senaratne.

Please do not argue on whether rebirth is confirmed or not and let us not insult those who believe in them. These are indeed beyond the comprehension, discernment and understanding of any normal human mind.

Let us, therefore, be conscious of those wonderful teachings expounded by the Buddha and all other enlightened religious leaders and let us join hands and try to put those teachings and the guidance in practise.

Zulkifli Nazim - Colombo 6