Citizen Mail
Ranil Wickremesinghe and his tomfoolery group are making a hue and
cry in Parliament as well as outside, that the Government has not taken
proper action on flood assistance. I will not take space and time in
this letter to argue their foolish utterances. Instead I refer to the
news item on page 1 in the Daily News of January 22, 2011 under the
heading ‘UN lauds Govt’ elaborating a statement made by UN Assistant
Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief
Coordinator Catherine Bragg and UN Sri Lanka’s coordinator Neil Buhne.
Wickremesinghe! You can fool some people all the time and some people
for some time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
T J VICTOR SILVA, Ja-Ela.
The 32-year-old male elephant, Neelagiri at the Pinnawela elephant
orphanage has died due to severe infestation of serious injuries
inflicted by three fiends who are supposed to care and look after these
animals. The dead elephant was the tallest and have sired many baby
elephants. He was caught and brought from the jungles of Lunugala in
1986. Instead of showing kindness, the three fiendish mahouts have put
this animal through hell.
The wounds have been there for a length of time until they fested
causing his death. It could not have happened instantly. What were the
officials and the veterinary surgeon-in-charge of the orphanage doing
all these days. Letting these fiends to continue torture? If they did
their part with dedication to these captured beasts, this would not have
happened and Neelagiri would have been saved.
The officials at Pinnawela are answerable for this crime. The three
mahouts must be dealt with severely, punished, imprisoned, denied of
their pension rights and ask to pay damages to the State.
In this how captured helpless and innocent animals are treated at the
orphanage. The country needs an answer to this type of brutal murder. A
man could defend himself but can an elephant under these conditions?
It is easy for the Zoological Department Director Bhaswara Senaka
Goonaratne to say that investigations will be carried out. Instead,
Gooneratne must use all the powers to deal severely with and be harsh on
these three fiends. At least, the other mahouts at the Pinnawela
Orphanage will not stoop to such cowardly acts. Fines and jail sentences
are not enough. This is blue murder. In this so-called haven that is
Pinnawela orphanage is a sham, a torture chamber. It is better for them
to die in jungles, at least they will die peacefully.
Do not kill our heritage like this in a Buddhist country where
elephants are a part of Buddhist philosophy.
GWEN HERAT, Marawila.
This refers to my letter ‘Proposed Electricity Tariffs’ which was
published in the Daily News of 15.12.2010.
The Table given below shows the revised unit rates which became
effective from January 1, 2011 to consumers between 91 and 180 units as
compared with the rates which prevailed prior to the revision.
Those who consume between 91 to 120 should be grateful to the
President for having intervened in this matter which resulted in
reducing the proposed rates.
(With the above revision the Fuel Adjustment charge of 30 percent
applicable to those who consume above 90 units will no longer be
applicable)
H W Goonesekera
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