|
|
|
| Sunday, 22 January 2006 |
 |
|
 |
Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Having seen the recent publications in most of the English newspapers about advertising agencies vs. advertising agencies for centre stage in judging newspaper ads to TV commercials, I thought it fit to mention the following: Two heads are better than one perhaps, but never from the same body of advertising. Beheading advertising I thought was a thing of the past but it still hangs around. Many times many agendas, including moving the goal (gold) posts have been sagely changed simply by disqualifying the entry of forerunners in TV commercials. How is it done? Simple. The TV commercial should have been introduced on a certain date thus chasing away the competition fast and furiously. Why dwell in the past! Graveyard or backyard standards of advertising should not be tolerate and tested. The world suffers from international beauty contests where everybody is a winner. Family bandits or bandyisms and judges from advertising agencies that are competing for advertising awards is like the Sinhala saying: Horage ammagen pena ahanawawage meaning, "asking the thief's mother to look into the crystal balls." by Alston Bull, Pannipitiya. The Private Member's Bill in Parliament to discourage the people from drinking and smoking, though welcome, makes me to wonder whether it is going to be like making the cows virtuous by keeping the bulls away. We should Educate the people to refrain from drinking and smoking. Like the cow that has the urge to mate will find the bull or the bulls will find the cow, the men and women, who in their minds have the desire to drink and smoke will somehow or other get the drink and smoke. If prisoners, in our country, even in high security cells, could get drinks, drugs, cigarettes and even women, will it be a difficult thing for people at large to get drinks and cigarettes, though there might be a law to curb them taking them or advertising the products.? It is the people's desire and craving for these things that has to be erased. If that is done no amount of advertisement will entice them. There are plenty of people like that. It will do a world of good if such a process is also begun apart from bringing the law. by Arul M. Rajendran, Colombo 13. There had been several letters in the press about the raw deal that the widow of the late SSP Wijewardena received from the police. This is nothing new. My late husband literally died with his boots on; but I received the pension after nearly one year, that too only after I appealed to the then President. Though I appealed to keep the vehicle with me for a few days to attend to urgent work related to my husband's demise, it was withdrawn immediately. The money lying at the Police Savings Assn. has still not been released after six years. Most of all, what hurts most is that the ladies of the Police Seva Vanitha have not bothered to send me at least a sympathy card or a greeting card during the festive seasons even though I had attended their meetings as a member. I do not know whether they are under the impression that I committed 'Sati' at my husband's funeral. I am not asking for charity - even after I wrote to the Welfare Division several times, still my husband's savings have not been released! I am sure that this is the plight of many Police widows. by Mirelle Jayawardena. Recent episodes of bribery in local govt operations demand early dissolvement of all these local bodies to stop this menance allowing public to send all bad men home and elect good members for their councils. Reported incidents possibly be one hundredth of actual episodes, thus anybody can just estimate the amount of corruption in local bodies. Hope president Rajapakse will take suitable action on this. by K. U. Pushpakumara, Pitakotte. A close relative of mine who is employed in a foreign country has opened an NRFC account in the People's Bank of Aranayake. She remits her savings to this account and a little amount of money is sent to me on an advice sent to the Bank to pay me. When I go to the Bank to claim this amount of money, the officer who deals with the NRFC accounts tells me that, this payment must be sanctioned by the head office of the People's Bank in Colombo and I have to wait for sometime. Now, I have been waiting for one and a half month still the sanction order has not come to the Bank. It is causing a great inconvenience to me and I'm unable to utilise the cash for an emergency. These kinds of problems have been going on only in the State Banks - People's Bank and the Bank of Ceylon and in foreign banks the foreign remittances are paid almost immediately. When I visit the People's Bank at Aranayake, I often see customers waiting in queues for long time to do their transactions. The staff of this bank are least bothered and they perform their duties in a slumbering mood. by M. B. S. Mazahira, Aranayake. It is said in the media that a new media will be opened for admission of children to grade one since 2007. This is a great idea when compare to the numerous difficulties that the parents have to undergo in this connection. According to the number of certificates that the parents have to produce to prove their residence seems to be "that giving birth to a child has become a punishable offence." According to the procedure in our country most often the parents have to admit their children to several schools if they have more than one child, as such the parents have to take seperate precautions for their safety. As such to avoid, all these unnecessary burden, new rules should allow parents to admit their children to any school they wish. by Wilson Nelumdeniya, Kelaniya. We observe with disdain that the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council's taxpayers' money had been utilised mostly for work other than the much needed repairs to dilapidated roads of the Council. Now, when some roads are patched up the deplorable innovation of the erection of a number of road humps on almost every road, other than certain specific places, which should have a yellow line on it. Indiscriminate erection of humps are indeed veritable death traps that motorcyclists, in particular, have to encounter and be contend with in the name of safety! May we ask in all earnest is it not incumbent upon the Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council to have speed limits on roads by erecting notice boards with speed limitations where necessary; and, arrange occasional checks with Police assistance? Knowledgeable sources speak in sotto voce of the recent parvenue of many housing localities in the city who have obtained the services of Municipal road repair workers to erect humps by their dwellings for a consideration and the Council overlooks these unauthorised erections as no revenue is expended by the Council. by Stanley Geeveratne, Dehiwela. The minorities in this country are an essential part and parcel of this land. No matter whether this blemished operation is called Strangers Night or any other terminology, the very intent of this operation is bloody humiliating. The population of this country has never been strangers from the time of Rama and Sita. Such operations not merely provoke but also bring the oppressed minorities into one straight line of thinking and solidarity. We as a nation have lost the magnanimity of enjoying the diversity of a multi cultural, lingual and religious society. Could anyone give a logical explanation to these sorts of operations in selected areas? We totally agree that all elected Governments must enforce all the machinery available to keep the country and its citizens safe. But aren't the thousands of these people who were arrested, detained and questioned citizens of this country. How come they have all become aliens and suspicious characters? The irony is that after fifty-five-years of independence we are unable to distinguish between friends, relatives and strangers. by Walter Fernando, Ratmalana. The article under the caption "City Centre - Underworld rules the roost" published in the Sunday Observer of January 15, is timely and calls for immediate action. Ironically none of the authorities - Police, UDA, CMC, ect. have taken any action to eliminate a single menace to date. The CMC is under UNP administration for well over 50 years and the extent to which the City of Colombo has deteriorated shows how efficient they are in management. What is surprising is the interest shown by the residents of Colombo City to elect a UNP administration over and over again despite the rapid deterioration of the City. Meanwhile, a female member of the ruling UNP had recently highlighted several dubious transactions of the CMC administration, if properly probed will bring to light many more committed over the years. In this scenario the Deputy Mayor blames his own administration of corruption. Here it is pertinent to state that the City of Colombo has recorded the highest number of dengue cases during the past few months. Hence, the Government should seriously think of establishing a separate authority to develop the City of Colombo, and put our metropolitan city in order. by Godfrey Lakshman, Battaramulla. Are there no laws applicable to those motor cycle riders seen carrying whole families on their bikes at great risk to life and limb? This is a common sight on our highways. Children perched on petrol tanks and without helmets legs hanging, hugging one another for dear life and even mothers pressing little ones to their bosoms and performing balancing acts at the same time. It is awesome and it is true. It is happening daily with law looking askance at these acts of suicide. The motorbike was never manufactured to take the place of a family car. In Sri Lanka it has become a lethal replacement and the question is can parents risk the lives of their children and be blind to the many hazards on our roads? And again perhaps could this be a kind of child abuse as well. by D. C. Nugawela, Malabe. Innovative garbage disposal method It is a pity that while the easiest way of garbage disposal is staring in our face, our city is littered with rotting garbage spreading stench and disease. The residents of Vanderwert Place have decided to take matters into their hands and come up with proper garbage disposal - nothing new, the well-known simple way of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. All residents are asked to bring their recyclable refuse namely - paper, sili-sili bags, plastic, metal, cardboard and glass to a single collecting point. The balance in other words, garden refuse and kitchen refuse, are to be put into the compost barrel. Mrs. Lorna Wright, an active champion of garbage disposal took us to Hinni Appu, of Mutwal, who is a simple man, who had acquired a machine which converts all the recyclable material into small particles which can be resold to those who re-use them to make plastic/glass things. We hope other lanes too will emulate this procedure and help the world survive from pollution. Why the government does not want to take the example of this simple procedure and get rid of garbage while giving employment to hundreds of people is beyond me. But when did the government of Sri Lanka ever do things the simplest and easiest way? by Dr. Mrs. Mareena Thaha Reffai, Dehiwela. Discussions on important national issues mainly via TV programmes such as Thulawa, Kinihira, Aththa Neththa, etc. shouldn't be made into a laughingstock and mere entertainment for the public who eagerly watch and await for a solution especially for the Peace formula in this country. Some participants do make it a mockery by displaying their stupidity to argue totally unwanted things outside the topic as thus waste precious time and money by backtracking from the main issue. We talk and joked unlimitedly for over two decades without any result whatsoever and are we to continue at the same trend? An ascent is needed on talks to this vital issue on Peace and every one hundredth second should be devoted for the issue in hand to win the hearts of the innocent public and if its jokes that you wish to play, please nominate a suitable and you act a joker's role in a teledrama as lives of citizens are at stake if you are to further continue. H. N. Wimelaratne, Kelaniya. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security | Produced by Lake House |
