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Monday, 4 February 2013

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Shortcomings in Kandy MC

When will the Municipal Council of the historic City of Kandy get a good Land and Planning Officer?

For people like me who were born and bred in Kandy, it is heart breaking to see these sort of shortcomings taking place in the Kandy Municipal precincts. We have to put this situation right.

The Land and Planning departments are two key money making institutions in the Municipal Council,

There is a officer in the Lands Department who is reported to be making lots of money, with the help of two high ranking government servants.

Adding to this, there is another officer who has joined the UDA and who deals in land and planning affairs who is making a fast buck.

It will be ideal if changes are made in the Planning and Lands Department by introducing two new faces. A high ranking officer who is also a long standing officer deals with all affairs.

This officer has got the best of everything that the council has to offer, including duty free vehicles, free land, several loan facilities.

He is now allegedly trying to jump over to the Public Service Commission.

The chief who is there is on three months extension after retirement.

Today, no one can get a plan passed without oiling the palms of those responsible.

It is imperative that a check be conducted on the manner in which how these top officials accumulated their wealth. This will help put the record straight.


Bring traffic violators to book

While on my way to work by car at about 7.30 one morning,along the Thalawathugoda-Madiwela-Pitakotte road, a Honda CRV bearing registration no: WP HZ-2121 overtook my vehicle travelling entirely on the wrong carriageway meant for oncoming traffic.

When vehicles came towards him, what the driver did was to swerve to the left to avoid a head-on collision, but in the process he nearly knocked my car.

I saw this happening to many other vehicles too ahead of mine. I am writing to you so that the Traffic Police could bring such flagrant violators of traffic rules to book thus allowing the law abiding citizens to use the public roads peacefully.


Clever way out!

The government brings in laws and people break them with impunity. The police cannot be bothered to abide by laws.

The partitioning railings were put up along the islands and boulevards in Wellawathe so that people do not cross roads at odd places. We used to see people jumping over these at various places and crossing roads for their convenience.

Now there are neat gaps in the railings at regular intervals as seen in this picture and people just pass through them and still cross roads at odd places.

I wonder who makes these gaps, by removing the bars, done so neatly without any damage to the rest of the railings.


Dog in the mansion attitude

A landlord who has allowed a co-operative society which is under the purview or supervision and control of the Central Province Commissioner/Registrar is facing a danger of losing his property despite the fact that the tenant and those under the company have already left the premises having closed their business and deserting the premises even without informing the landlord and also dumping its used appliances into the premises thereby preventing the landlord from making any improvements and do other needful for his progress.

When they left having closed their business the property was completely damaged to the extent that the property became not fit for any human habitation. The inmates, if any have to live in the darkness among termites, ants, reptiles, mosquitoes producing (dengue fever) and bats which have made the property their own legitimate abode.

When the co-operative ltd has left the property they disconnected not only their three phase electricity but also caused the residential electric connection to be disconnected and left their things destitute too in the darkness.

This business establishment put the land lord in an embarrassing position besides causing immense financial and mental damages and sufferings. Due to the awful management of this company all the five or six employees have voluntarily retired or left leaving behind the Chairman appointed by the Commissioner and an Acting General Manager. I came to know that he was taking things out of this premises the purpose of which is not known to anyone. When they closed the business they left the premises with arrears of monthly rents accruing to about two hundred thousand rupees.

The landlord previously reduced the rental from Rs 13,000 to Rs 4,000 without any advance payment which remains unpaid perhaps in order to pay the salary of the employees for their existence. The surroundings of the buildings is also full of bushes, weeds and wild plants grown to three feet height. The walls, floor and the roofs were all damaged and remain unattended.

The building is devoid of light and security but the irresponsible officers dumped all the discarded properties inside the building, on the veranda and even in the yard. This has prevented the landowner from making any improvement. The things were not removed because there is no any other suitable building that could be used to store them without paying the rents. The tax assessed on their business by UC have not been paid for a long time and the UC has already issued the warrant to seize the movables. Also is has issued a new assessment sheet for the ensuing year on the same basis. Many a person supervising this body including officers in SLAS ranks seems to be unconnected and carefree about the things left destitute and get rusted and the injuries caused to the particular landlord and others in the neighbourhoods.

The Multipurpose Co-operative Society Ltd Nawalapitiya which ran the business in this premises previously handled matters diligently and when it closed business it duly informed me (Landlord) to take over the building but the Nawalapitiya Milk Producers Society, at its board meeting has atoned me as its landlord and got my licence, or permission to continue its business in one half of my premises while the other half was reserved for me.

The modus operandi exercised demanding the title deed, registration entries and even title report by the Commissioner who once denied any responsibility in this matter seems to get the matter delayed by dragging on the act of removing the discarded things from the premises thereby causing further loss to me.

Is there any officer in Sri Lanka in Ministry level who could help mitigate the loss caused to this poor landlord and get him suitable relief for the sufferings?


Area beneath Nugegoda flyover

It is unnecessary to explain the traffic congestion and the parking problem faced by the motorists in Nugegoda town.

From the inception, the area beneath the flyover on the High Level Road (on either side of the intersection) was used to park vehicles.

However,for the last several months this area is encircled by choir ropes preventing vehicle parking. A shoddily done sign board on either side of the junction states that the area is reserved for Road Development Authority (RDA) vehicles.

First of all, the makeshift boundary and sign boards are eyesores nullifying the efforts of the authorities to beautify the roads and public places. Secondly, as a frequent traveller through Nugegoda town, I have never seen any RDA vehicle parked there and to my knowledge no RDA office is situated in the vicinity.

The responsible authorities should understand that the ultimate aim of public institutions should be making the life of the ordinary citizen easier and not to burden them with more and more restrictions.

A similar flyover at Dehiwala Junction is open for public vehicle parking.

If necessary, the parking could be regularized by employing a parking attendant generating revenue for the government. If the RDA requires some space for parking, may be one or two parking bays could be demarcated and reserved for them.


Language use

I enjoyed reading this episode of Tilak Fernando's life abroad series. Thank you for its publication. It is an apt presentation of our idiosyncrasy regarding the use of English in our everyday conversation and our eagerness to show to others that we are clever people above the hoi polloi.

May be its the insecurity of an island population against the global world.

We did try in the 60s and 70s but that was not what people wanted. Back again to the days when proud parents say to each other how difficult it is for their 'clever kid' to speak in Sinhala.

Lots of funding goes to language labs to master English while our children will never know the prose of Saddharma Ratnavaliya nor the lyrical poetry of the Sandesa Kavya. Not even Madol Duwa except the translation of course!

 

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