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[Citizens’ Mail]
There are two elephants worth talking about, at the Elephant
Orphanage at Pinnawala. One is a bull elephant with a dark black hide
and a beautiful pair of tusks. It is really a majestic elephant but
sadly it is blind in both eyes. Therefore it is kept chained to its shed
throughout the day.
The second is a cow elephant depicted in the picture, who has been
named Sama by the elephant orphanage authorities. It had been brought to
the orphanage in 1966 at the age of five years. She is a victim of a
landmine blast. Sama had stepped on a mine in the Northern jungles and a
portion of her right fore leg had been shorn in the blast.
She hops on her torn off leg but walks normal steps with her hind
legs. At the start this elephant had been rejected by the herd because
of the strange ways in which she walked and ate. She has her own ways
and is quite independent of the herd.
Because of her weight and the un-natural position of her legs adopted
to balance herself, the alignment of her joints and spine has changed.
The rib cage is said to be putting pressure on the lungs and heart.
Her lungs could collapse because of the pressure of her ribs. There is
pressure on her internal organs and the bones have become deformed,
according to the vets. Her back-bone grows crooked every year, but she
has survived so far. The vets had tried to get her used to an artificial
limb but that had failed.
This elephant has to put extra effort to tear coconut fronds into
small chunks to be consumed, as she is unable to hold them down with her
right foreleg. How many such elephants could have fallen prey to the
thousands of landmines planted in the Norther jungles by the LTTE?
Harshi Nadie Perera
In retirement from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, I continued
in the Social Services Ministry and served on the National Council of
Elders established under the Protection of Rights of Elders Act 2000
until May 2011. During my term on the Council I drafted the National
Policy for Elders (2000) approved by the Government in 2006.
Subsequently, I drafted the National Action Plan for Elders 2009 (13
Chapters) jointly with Dr H L Gunasekera. Under the Act, the Council was
required to undertake nearly 20 functions for elders. These were mainly
setting up 10,000 Village Level Elders Societies for the elders,
providing various self-employment training and vocational, health
insurance schemes, issue of senior citizen identity cards affording
certain concessions and an elders Secretariat to implement the Act.
However, despite the availability of the government pension schemes,
provident funds in private sector and social security schemes for
self-employed, the fact is that 35 to 40% of the population are not
covered by any floor of social protection, and are left to means-tested
social assistance and Samurdhi schemes.
These extended groups include housewives, widows, single mothers,
parents and grandparents who contribute to the maintenance of families
and social structure, indeed seen as a vital labour force but with no
social protection of life insurance or health insurance during and at
the end of their lives.
Although the Elders Act mentions inauguration of Health Insurance
Scheme, as one of the functions of the National Elders, no effort has
been made in the direction. The insurance sector has a private health
insurance but with high premiums. This is because of the sad experience
that Insurance Corporates are “fleeced” by some professionals, and
private medical institutions on excessive charges on insured clients
seeking treatment.
Dr Dev Shetty, Managing Director, Narayanan Health City from
Bangalore offers affordable healthcare. He has a network of low cost
medical institution at low monthly fees of Rs 5 to 10 per month from
membership of a million drawn from 36,000 Co-operative Societies, all
range of medical treatment and services from low insurance cover. These
would be worth exploring. Singapore also offers Medi Serve Insurance and
Medi Shield Insurance at low cost to clients. These schemes come under
term of Micro Health Insurance.
The private insurance sector in this country, which has recently
shown high profits could get together as an act of Corporate Social
Responsibility to serve the lowest segments of society for life and
health insurance. This venture would be welcomed by any government and
contribute to meeting unexpected contingencies of medical care for the
poor who have no resources to fall back upon for long-term major
treatment. The venture would contribute to raising their living
standards, climbing out of poverty and contributing to growth and
development in wider unreached sectors of low end of income earners,
their families and children.
A pre-planning for retirement training course was started in small
ways by the Social Services Ministry but the full potential was not
realized. If diversified schemes of attractive insurance package could
be offered to the younger working population early in life, they would
be able to face the heavy financial demands at the time of retirement
for increased incomes to meet education of children, their settlement in
life and retired life. This package would be welcomed by the private
sector and perhaps subsidized as welfare measures to workers, in
addition to what the employers pay as terminal benefits under existing
Law.Some countries wisely do not have an age of retirement but encourage
workers, office employees and professionals to continue work as long as
they are fit and able. There is thus less strain on country’s health and
manpower services.
The age of retirement (60 years), was determined when life
expectation was lower. Currently, expectation of life for males is 74
and females 80. The National Council of Elders Social Service Ministry
proposed to government a year ago, that the age of retirementfor public
be raised to 62 years without interfering with the line of promotion of
senior SLAS about to retire.
On the same basis, it is time that private insurers lift the age of
admission of new policy-holders from 60 to 65 as many live longer and
healthier lives. The revision would be recognized as bonus for healthy
ageing active senior citizens who would continue to work as long as
possible and live with their families.
J V Thambar
An eating house has been put up and runs its business very smoothly
on land belonging to the Railway Department in Beruwala.
This land is located between the newly renovated Colombo-Matara,
coastal-belt railway line and the Galle Road.
Who has given authority to build this structure and how were water
supply and electricity connections provided are questions which demand
answers. In fact this eating house is far from conformity to
environmental regulations and is a health hazard in addition.
Munidasa Kamburawala
My brother, waiting at the Katunayake International airport for his
flight to Qatar, went to the prayer area to pray. There he left his
brand new shoes at the shelf outside the prayer area but when he
returned after prayers only one shoe was found - the other was missing.
Since he happened to know an officer there, he complained to him who
asked the labourers around about it. One labourer said he found a shoe
far away near a shop and went and brought it. When my brother was
contemplating paying him for his help, another person who happened to be
around said he too had exactly the same experience. Coincidence? Are
they hoping the traveller will leave their shoe, so that they can make a
quick buck out of or are they doing this hoping to get paid for
“finding” the shoe? How did the shoe go so far away? And even if it was
there why didn’t the labourer report it? Or was it a genuine case of
helping a traveller? Too many questions.
Anyway beware of the racket if there is one.
Dr. Mareena Refai Thaha
The mosquito is the most dangerous of all female species. Once it has
fertilized its eggs with the first easily available human mammalian
blood, it must find water to lay its eggs. The water cannot be running
or too deep.
The larvae once hatched have to breathe air. If it is running water,
the eggs get destroyed. If the water is too deep the larvae will die
before it can reach the surface to breathe. So we help the mother
mosquito with a ready source of water. That is the ‘Ovil trap’.
Keep a basin or a shallow utensil of a light colour with about three
inches of water at a place you go past every day near your house
entrance. In a few days you will see the tell-tale sign of wriggling
larvae. Hooray! Empty the basin and keep new water and repeat. This what
the spider said to the fly. “Come into my parlour”. That is the ‘Ovi
Trap’. This is not hundred per cent fool proof but certainly helps bring
down the figures.
Mahendra Samarasinghe
Visual communication Morse and Semaphore is not outdated. It is still
in use internationally by ships in the wide open sea to identify each
other and in seeking hope in crisis or disaster. Morse and Semaphore in
English introduced to Scouts here smoothly prevailed in use from the
very beginning in 1912 to about 1956. Then there was no mobile phones as
now. Unfortunately, visual communication was not seen as a proud
exhibition even at the scouts centenary celebrations.
There is now a Sinhala version book on these methods published by the
Cultural Affairs Department available for sale at Rs. 90 per copy. This
book has been approved by the Education Publications Commission as a
school library book recommended by Examiners as useful for scouts.
Certificates from the following government bodies are also printed in
this book. Intellectual Property Office, New Inventors Commission,
Director of Curricular Activities Guidance Conselling, Education
Ministry.
A former Scouts Commissioner Camilus Fernando took steps to promote
Morse and Semaphore methods among scouts, but there was no further
action after he retired. The Ahungalla Rajapaksa College scouts are
actively using this book. Organized Scout Groups stationed far apart
within clear visibility range such as coastal land points, across wide
river banks and high village hills or high buildings in cities so
permitted, will be able to expedite relaying urgent visual messages in
crisis on unexpected disaster by these methods and without the use of
complicated mobile phones which will be a great benefit to the nation.
Y Amarsena de Silva
I refer to the article published in the Daily News on June 29, 2012
warning that Colombo residents facilitating the breeding of dengue
mosquitoes will be arrested under Act 262 of the penal code as said by
the CMC chief medical officer. I live in Sri Pannananda Mawatha,
Colombo. The road starting from the near the Bo tree towards the end of
Aluthmawatte Road, passing Dr. Anthony’s clinic, the Ceylon Oxygen
Company and the temple is in a very poor condition. There are no proper
drain systems. All drains are blocked with sand and no water can pass
through.
Worse it is when it rains, as the water collects on the road and some
in the blocked drains which allow mosquitoes to breed freely.
my children and I have suffered very much. Earlier my daughter had
dengue and was admitted to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital and now my
children are under medication for cough and wheezing due to the dust on
the roads being blown into our house. . They have to be nebulized thrice
a day to control wheezing. Doctors have advised me to always close the
door and keep the children in house.
Several times I informed the CMC but these have fallen into deaf
ears. Now more vehicles pass along this road, after the new Hendala Road
was opened. The result is that more dust comes in.
What is required now, is the cleaning of the drains and the carpeting
of the roads. I would request the authorities concerned to look into
this matter and do the needful urgently, without waiting for the next
CMC elections to come.
A worried parent
My brother, waiting at the Katunayake International airport for his
flight to Qatar, went to the prayer area to pray. There he left his
brand new shoes at the shelf outside the prayer area but when he
returned after prayers only one shoe was found - the other was missing.
Since he happened to know an officer there, he complained to him who
asked the labourers around about it. One labourer said he found a shoe
far away near a shop and went and brought it. When my brother was
contemplating paying him for his help, another person who happened to be
around said he too had exactly the same experience. Coincidence? Are
they hoping the traveller will leave their shoe, so that they can make a
quick buck out of or are they doing this hoping to get paid for
“finding” the shoe? How did the shoe go so far away? And even if it was
there why didn’t the labourer report it? Or was it a genuine case of
helping a traveller? Too many questions.
Anyway beware of the racket if there is one.
Dr. Mareena Refai Thaha
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