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Tuesday, 24 July 2012

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Sama - the landmine victim

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?


Private insurers should lift admission age of new policy holders

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.


Eating house on public property

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.


The shoe racket at the airport

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.


The Ovi trap

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.


Morse and Semaphore - applicable even today

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.


Dengue breeders face arrest

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.


The ‘shoe racket’ at the airport

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.

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