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Around 250,000 vehicles enter the City of Colombo daily carrying
around 800,000 people. In addition around 700,000 people live in the
City of Colombo itself making it the most populated and congested city
in Sri Lanka. Traffic lights or signal lights have been installed in
most places to ease traffic congestion and ensure the smooth flow of
traffic in the city and this is essential to both motorists and
pedestrians alike. Unfortunately traffic lights at some of the busiest
junctions in Colombo are found to be not functioning or malfunctioning.
Among such places are those at the Slave Island junction, Bambalapitiya,
Chatham Street and Sir Chitttmpalam A. Gardiner Mawatha in Fort as well
as in Orugodawatte.
At such times, some vehicle drivers resort to reckless driving which
becomes worse when a traffic policeman is not present. Since recently,
traffic policemen are not deployed where traffic signal lights have been
installed and traffic is controlled by signal lights. This is stated to
be a sequence to a decision taken by the higher ranks in the Traffic
Police. However this system has become a failure since many of the
traffic lights are not functioning.
Orugodawatte is one point where motor vehicles from the Kandy road,
the Negombo road and the Avissawella road all flow into Colombo. At any
given time there are a large number of vehicles entering and leaving the
city here. Yet very often it is found that the traffic lights are
malfunctioning in this very busy spot. The red, amber and green lights
all function at the same time here. This happens when it rains and the
rain water seeps into the circuit, short circuiting the lighting system.
When will the responsible authorities - the CMC and the Traffic Police
rectify this matter ?
Harshi Nadie Perera
Piliyandala
This refers to my letter under the above caption, which appeared in
the ‘Citizens Mail column in the Daily News on 12.11.2012.
As some of the reservoirs are already spilling and in some, the water
level has risen to over 85% capacity there is no doubt that thermal
power generation would have dropped drastically and thus there is a big
saving on fuel costs. Hence it is high time that due consideration is
given to exempting the domestic consumers from the Fuel Adjustment
Charge or reducing it by at least 10%. I trust that this matter will
receive the early attention of the Power and Energy Minister and the
Public Utilities Commission to which the domestic consumers will be ever
grateful, as it will have a far reaching impact on their cost of living.
H.W. Goonesekera
Panadura
The system of education in a country assumes enormous importance in
that it is central to a country's economic, social and cultural
development. In Sri Lanka, there are sufficient academics and necessary
resources are abundantly available within the country itself. Besides,
Sri Lanka has a very creative, innovative and academically gifted
student-population spread out across the country. Nevertheless, parents
have reason to wonder why the education system has continued to remain
an unsettled issue for decades.
From time to time the education system has been subjected to ad-hoc
changes and has achieved very little progress. The bulk of the
population advocate free education for their children, which was
introduced by the late Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara in the 1940s.
Problems of indiscipline among university students, the booming
business of private tuition which has been operating alongside state
schools have been just a few of the grave symptoms of the present
crisis.
As far as the physical and mental well-being of the growing child is
concerned, the present system is not soundly based. The average school
child hardly has any spare time for his breakfast and lunch that he
takes at home. Students skip their home-made meals and consume
unwholesome food and drink bought from outside.
These have been identified as causative factors for marked increase
in diabetes and poor vision among school children. Furthermore, the
current ramshackle system fails to nourish our indigenous values,
traditions and virtues. The country's youth fail to keep our values and
moral standards alive.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has publicly told the nation that his
development strategy is a two-pronged plan which combines economic
advancement with spiritual progress. Then why is it that we have
departed from such ‘good educational sense’ as expressed by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa?
Nandaratna Rajapaksha
Ambalangoda
Retired Justice C.V. Wigneswaran has made a highly political speech
while taking cover under the topic: “Why independence of the Judiciary
is important”. Anyone reading his speech will note that he is completely
biased towards the present Chief Justice and that he has been given a
contract by the CJ to sling mud at the government and to try to protect
her.
However, he has been deafeningly silent about the massive charges
that have been levelled against the Chief Justice, perhaps because even
he is unable to defend her corrupt practices. One favourable outcome
that is emerging from this impeachment saga is that this type of biased
and political Judges are now being exposed and that will give a chance
for our country’s Judiciary to be cleaned up so that it will become
truly independent and professional in the future.
Soma P
Colombo
Thankful to Parliament for the impeachment
As a Judge of the District Court I am sad to write this letter. CJ
Shirani Bandaranayake made a long speech to us, the members of the
Judiciary on December 22. When I went for the meeting, I expected the
Chief Justice to at least go through the 14 charges levelled against her
and tell us her fellow judges, her side of the story so that she would
have been able to convince us that she is innocent of the charges. But
to my surprise and dismay not one word did she utter about the charges
against her and as to why we should believe she is innocent of these
charges. As a Judge, I am now convinced that she has been indulging in
massive misconduct and conflict of interest and I am shy to function as
a Judge as long as she is the CJ. I am therefore thankful to Parliament
for impeaching her and taking steps to remove such a corrupt person from
office.
This is the only way that integrity could be restored in our
Judiciary.
Sad Judge
In the 15th century morality play 'Everyman', Death is the mighty
messenger of God. God was keeping a close tab of people's existence on
earth and found to his dismay that day by day, year after year, man had
been heading madly toward jealousy, engulfing his fellowmen and would
end in devouring each other. God decided to destroy the whole world
which was his creation. But in a subsequent thought God decided to take
a reckoning as only a few people had performed their mission with the
vision given to them. In brief, most of the people had abused the vision
gifted by him and deviated from the entrusted mission.
Piyadasa Rillagoda
Baddegama
An influential pharmaceutical firm has been advertising for the last
several weeks on behalf of their Principals abroad in the local TV
Chanels, the availability of a shaving razor for an attractive price of
Rs. 18.00 usable for one month, which sounds a bargain to our adult
shaving gentry.
What is advertised is a razor with a pivotal–head moving from side to
side and a young demonstrator on the TV visual keeps on shaving while
dancing to impress on the gullible that shaving is done so pleasantly,
swiftly and with ease with this, improved version of razor.
But what is released to the local market is a different type of the
brand with a fixed razor-head, which is not so convenient and leaves
behind cuts and aberrations. A complaint bringing the matter to the
notice of Director of Consumer Affairs Authority was made on 05.12.12
but not even an acknowledgment has been received to this day. Perhaps
the culpable local advertiser is more important than the gullible,
hapless consumer!
W. Samaranayake
Maharagama
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