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Monday, 16 July 2012

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Unsafe bridge in Talawakelle

We are a group of Engineers who passed out from the Engineering Faculty of the Peradeniya University in 1999. We wish to, through the Citizens’ Mail column, draw the attention of the relevant authorities to an unsafe footbridge located opposite the Talawakelle Urban Council building. One of our members happened to spot this unsafe bridge, took photographs of it and discussed it within our group. The common census was that it is unsafe for the following reasons :

1. There is an unusual sag in the bridge close to the right bank. Under normal circumstances when there is no load on the bridge there should be a small sag, due to the self-weight of the bridge. We are concerned that the sag in the bridge occurs close to the right bank rather than the middle and that it is in excessive.

2. The joints between the ties seem to be spaced too close together.

3. The upper and the lower joints are not staggered adequately.

What we recommend is a thorough inspection to determine the cause of this unusual sag and whether it is safe or in excess of the design standards. If the sag is deemed to be in excess of design standards, it can be corrected by jacking the bridge at appropriate locations and affixing one or more ties at the point of the sag.

We trust that action will be taken without delay by the relevant authorities to inspect this bridge and make it safe for public use.


Protect the girl-child and all women

It was with great sadness that I watched the news telecast on the death of a little girl in the Narahenpita canal some days back.

What she suffered prior to death cannot be imagined. Surely, death would have been merciful to her. What is so disturbing is that the crime was committed by teenagers.

In an address by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, at the St. Joseph's College prize giving, he said, “A student should be morally formed and spiritually nourished”. How relevant it is in today's society! There is no lack of Dhamma schools (Christian, Buddhist etc.) in our country. So where does the fault of children going astray lie? Schools apart, a child's formation begins at home. And if that home is not a fortress for a child he is apt to go astray.

It is also time that mother's realized the dangers a girl-child faces daily be where they are on the roads, in school vans, and even at home.

They are never too young to be cautioned as to what could happen to them, even from their own kith and kin. School education also must highlight this factor (boy's schools too - 'respect womanhood'). Surely the active human rights organization in Sri Lanka can move in this matter.

Attacks on females (just another news item) seem to be the order of the day. Now, are we going to add another “first” to our record of “firsts”? Its time all women, mothers especially, raised their voices in protest.

Protect the girl-child.


Mittal and the London Olympics

The Time Magazine of July 2 carried a brief article on Oliver Wainwright British architecture critic harshly criticizing the new Arcelor Mittal Orbit tower at the Olympic Park in London. This perhaps is an inauspicious omen to the London-based Indian industrialist, Lakshmi Mittal, President of the Global Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steelmaker. Mittal has so much at stake in the London games – the realisation of an eight year dream.

India, the second most popular country has an extremely poor record in the Olympic Games. It took them 56 years to win an individual gold medal and also to break the jinx of not winning more than one medal in the Olympics. This was at the 2008 China Games. Soon after India's miserable show at the Athens Games in 2004, Lakshmi Mittal set up the Mittal Championship Trust with an initial pledge of 10 million dollars to ensure that India won medals in 2012 in London – vigorous, multi-layered training programme for all sports except cricket, which anyway is not an Olympic event. It was argued that “to make India a greater sporting nation cricket was not the best thing to get involved with”.

Four years later similar sentiments were echoed by an irate New Delhi resident, U.K. Sadhoo in a damning letter to TIME, which the magazine captioned ‘National Terror.’ He wrote: “Cricket is an 800 pound gorilla that has smothered all other sports in India. It hogs the media, sponges all the sponsorship and makes idols of mediocre, inconsistent and narcissistic athletes.....” He went on to propose a ten year moratorium on cricket, diverting all resources to other hopelessly funded sports in India concluding”.... and watching the cricketers earn a living like us lesser mortals.”

Fortunately it is not so bad here in Sri Lanka but we have had the odd ominous rumblings. I think it was in 2008 that Hyacinth Wijesinghe, the national netball coach resigned bemoaning the poor patronage accorded to the sport. She said, “Apart from cricket there is hardly any recognition for coaches handling other sports.”

Anyway with the Olympics only a few days away, millions of Indians the world over and of course Mittal are keeping their fingers crossed in nervous excitement to see how successful the enormous work of the trust would be – least in creating a small miracle.


Pickpockets in buses

The number of bus travellers being pick-pocketed in the Colombo area is ever increasing. Recently, a lady in a Kalubowila to Dehiwala bus lost her purse which was in her hand bag. She almost cried and told the conductor that her purse was pick-pocketed with Rs 600. I was in the same bus and over heard the conductor yelling at her saying that he is helpless and that it is duty of bus travellers to look after their belongings.

In another incident the purse of a lady travelling in the 101 route bus from Dehiwala was picked while she was getting down at Wellawatte. Her purse contained Rs. 3600, some Canadian dollars, her NIC, Canadian citizen card, health card and a Canadian credit card.

These crimes happen in crowded buses daily and especially women are targeted. I suggest that the Police deploy some plain clothesmen to arrest this ever increasing menace. Unless stern action is taken, it is going to end up as an incurable island wide disease sickening to bus travellers.


Snobbish school Principals

I write this letter with reference to the recent news items about the snobbish behaviour of a principal of a national school who refused to issue the school leaving certificate to a student, on the flimsy grounds of the student's inability to replace a book he had borrowed from the school library. It seems to me that principals of some national schools have become dictators of sort, even refusing to listen to higher authorities.

They have built empires of their own, dispensing their authority arbitrarily, which has led to several injustices in certain cases. Favoritism, corruption and malpractices have swallowed the school system.

The majority of the teachers remain silent over these issues for fear of reprisals. Most principals have created circles and networks consisting of deputies, clerks and others for the purpose of carrying on their activities under cover.

School admissions have become a lucrative business for some principals. In many cases, however the go scot free as it is often done through brokers. Some principals show reluctance to take in children of staff members as this does not bring them the money.

It is indeed disheartening to see how the laudable policies of free education are being violated by these ‘licensed criminals’.

Some principals of popular schools have become so swollen-headed that they have become jokers in the eyes of teachers and parents.

For example, the principal of a leading boys' school in Kandy has introduced a teacher assessment scheme through which 10 selected teachers are given a foreign tour.

Apart from the demoralising effect this has on the other teachers, the very process of evaluation is seriously flawed.

For example, a sectional head or a principal grade officer with a smattering of English is appointed to evaluate the lessons of an English teacher with a Master’s qualification.

It is time the educational authorities exercised a check on the utopian plans of principals who run schools according to their whims and fancies violating the national educational policies which are the very pillars of our education system.


No accommodation in this school

The Hirigalgodella Kanista Vidyalaya which is in a remote corner in the Beruwala electorate severely lacks accommodation for its students.

The school building was built on a hillock in the late nineteen sixties as a primary school for a few students. But since then, the number of students has increased every year, with the result that there is congestion is the classes today. This has greatly affected the day to day activities including the studies of the children.

The Zonal Education Office in Kalutara had approved the construction of a new building for this junior school a few years ago, after the blue prints had been readied.

But sadly, even the foundation stone of the proposed building has not been laid as yet.

Parents of students of the school state that their children suffer immensely owing to the lack of space for their educational activities.

If the Education Department initiate the new building without further delay, it would be of much service for the future generation of this remote area.


The story of Sam Wijesinha

I enjoyed reading your article in the Daily News on the above subject. I am a living truth to his simplicity and humanism. You are right in calling him an epitome of simplicity and humanism.

I was a Supreme Court stenographer and had the privilege of taking down in shorthand, many of this Crown Counsel's learned arguments from 1955 to 1962. Later I was privileged to work under him as a Hansard reporter both at the Senate and the House of Representatives.

I resigned from Parliament service in December 1980 upon being appointed as a Secretary at Gray Mackenzie (International) Ltd., in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In keeping with protocol, I applied for a year's no pay leave to the Hansard editor. He was unwilling to release me.

He wrote to Sam Wijesinha setting out various insurmountable difficulties, chief of which was the difficulty to recruit good shorthand writers for the job.

I was unaware of this note. Unexpectedly, I got a call from Sam Wijesinha asking me to see him in his office. He showed me this note and also his remark at the bottom of it in red: ‘Tell me how I can stop him from proceeding’.

All he said to me was, “I am releasing you. Get ready to travel and all the best to you.” Following this, I had to go to him once more to ask him for a testimonial to be submitted to the new company. Simple as he is, he told me, “You write what you think of yourself and I will approve it”. I wrote a suitable character certificate and took it to him.

Being a man who is experienced in men and matters, he read through it, agreed with me and signed it without any alternation. That is the type of the simple and human and genial boss I remember today and p[ay tribute to.

I am now 80 years. I have achieved quite a lot thanks to his humanity and understanding.

In our belief, it is said if you are not thankful to a fellow human being, then you will be considered not thankful to your creator. I seek this opportunity through the Citizens' Mail column to place on record his humanism to a humble and helpless soul.

He has turned 91 years now. I wish him good health and God's blessings for many more years to come. May the Good Lord guard and guide him.

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