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| Sunday, 24 October 2004 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Keep the roads clean Did you know that the Government recently introduced a law to deal with people who come in vehicles and dump garbage on the roadside? According to this law, a special mobile task force of the police will arrest and detain violators of the law who pollute the environment. Their vehicles will be retained at the police station until a court order is received. This move would discourage people dumping their garbage on the roadsides and if implemented properly, would reduce environmental pollution which has become a problem throughout the world. Would you like to see a pile of garbage first thing every morning when you step out of your house to go to school? For many kids living in and around Colombo, this is the reality. Piles and piles of garbage have been dumped in most city roads and has become a familiar site to many. Even the roads along our parliament have not been spared. Can you imagine what it would be like for the people living close by? The sight of a garbage dump, the smell, the flies, crows and dogs gathered around cannot be a pleasant experience. Besides, such places are breeding grounds for flies and mosquitos, creating a very unhygienic environment for those living nearby. Garbage dumping on the roadsides is mostly done by affluent people travelling in vehicles. If you see your parents, relatives or neighbours doing this, you can tell them to stop this bad habit. You can bury your garbage if there is space in your garden or else you can dump them at garbage bins or trailers found at various spots along the road. These are regularly emptied by the authorities. Burying your garbage will have other benefits as well, as it will decompose into manure which can be used for your plants. You will also be doing your bit towards protecting the environment and beautifying the countryside. ******** Highlights of Butterfly Carnival
The programme on the theme 'Celebrating Childhood' was organised by the Ministry of Information and Media in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Ports and Aviation to mark International Children's Day. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Independent Television Network and Lakhanda were among the organisations which conducted various activities for the children. ********* Peace camp in Kandy The Central Province recently conducted an Amity Schools National Peace Camp, which turned out to be a big success. It was organised on a request of the Education Ministry. The camp, organised by Trinity College, Kandy, was held at the Penideniya Training College and brought together students from five schools in the region with the participants representing all ethnic groups. Students from 10 schools in Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna and Batticaloa took part. They actively participated in all the games and activities organised for them. Organising camps of this nature which bring together children of all communities had been advocated by the Ministry under the Amity School concept launched by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in 2001. The Ministry's English Unit has produced a booklet that describes various enrichment activities that schools can undertake and is encouraging schools all over the country to develop initiatives in this field. ******* Start of the fasting season Once again, the month of Ramazan is with us and our Muslim readers would be celebrating the event. During the whole month, which commenced with the sighting of the New Moon, Muslims offer more prayers, read and listen to the Quran recital daily, and observe strict self-discipline through fasting. Allah Almighty has also prescribed fasting for Muslims all over the world during Ramazan. Ramazan is the month in which the Quran was revealed as a guide to mankind. The month-long fasting enables the Muslims to feel with the poor who daily experience the pangs of hunger. Fasting cleanses our body from impurities. During the month of Ramazan, besides the performance of the daily five-times prayers, an additional prayer called 'Tharaweeh' is observed. The last ten days and nights are spent in intensive devotion, including the celebration of Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Power), the night on which the first revelation of the Quran came to the Holy Prophet. The month-long fasting ends with the celebration of the festival of fast-breaking the 'Eid-ul-Fitr' which occurs on the first day of Shawaal month. ****** Workshops on colour CIC Paints (Pvt) Ltd (member of the international ICI Paints World Group) conducted two Dulux Paata Paata workshops on colour at the Galle Face Hotel recently. Leading interior designer, David I. Tay was brought down from Singapore for the workshops. At the second workshop for children aged 5-12, children were free to create bright and bold designs of their own, with the help of David's daughter Raine. Parents were invited to view samples of David's work, with particular focus on the theme of children's rooms. In a joint session, three children of different age groups were invited to work with David on selecting and applying colours to a children's room using the Dulux Previews colour visualisation software. All three chose surprisingly bold colours for their virtual rooms. As David explained: "Children have a different approach when choosing colour as they identify more closely with their emotions and are not afraid to be bold with their choices." CIC Paints and printing partner Graphitec (Pvt)Ltd. hope to conduct more of these workshops in the near future. |
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The Butterfly Carnival and ICE (Information, Communication and
Education) exhibition were held at the BMICH from October 16 to 18.
