Mixed reactions to removal of checkpoints
By Ananda Kannangara
Dr. Navaratna Kariyakarawana of Aturugiriya hailed the Supreme Court
for taking into account the inconvenience caused to passengers due to
checkpoints in Colombo city.
"I am a resident of Aturugiriya. Some days it takes more than two and
half hours for me to reach Colombo in my own vehicle due to long delays
at checkpoints".
A CTB bus driver in the Mattakkuliya depot, Wilson Punyadeva said
when checkpoints were being maintained, it took nearly two hours to
reach Colombo from Pitakotte."
He said it takes less than an hour and fifteen minutes now".
An executive in a mercantile firm, Jaliya Hettiaratchchi said that
removing checkpoints was a viable step when considering the convenience
of travelling especially office workers and schoolchildren.
"At the same time have the authorities taken any alternative measures
to provide security for passengers". He also requested the Government
not to remove the checkpoints in the North, because explosives are
brought to the South mostly from these areas.
M. Haiff Faizal of Kollupitiya welcomed the decision to remove
checkpoints and proposed the security personnel should check the
belongings of passengers, in buses plying the roads.
"If this is done no one can conceded any of their belongings even
underneath the seats".
Gayani Wijegunawardana of Melsiripura said "it is better for the
Police to carry out random checks on people on the roads and passengers
inside vehicles, especially those without reasons to travel to the city.
She also recalled an incident which occurred few years ago in Dharga
Town at Matara, where a bus passenger concealed a parcel under the seat
of the bus when it was ordered to stop at a checkpoint.
"As a result, the Police were unable to find the person who brought
that parcel which contained high explosives".
Dr. Kamani Gunasinghe of Nedimala suggested that the police check the
baggages of passengers while the buses are moving. If so, no one could
hide their belongings even under seats.
She also recalled an incident at Moratuwa three months ago, when
three buses were stopped by the Police to check passengers and one
person who was in the third bus had vanished from the scene after
leaving a parcel and later it was found to be a bomb.
She said if security personnel had boarded the bus and checked at the
same time, definitely they probably would have been able to trace the
person who had brought it. Former Pradeshiya Sabha member for Kurunegala
Sumanachandra de Silva said "Now terrorists can move freely and they can
do whatever destruction they want". A retired public servant, Prof. Sarath Mediwaka of Kalutara said "I am coming to work from Kalutara by
bus and not a single policeman boarded our bus and checked the baggages".
A mother of three children, Madavi Kalyani Satharasinghe of Ratnapura
said there must also be an alternative to this, because the Tigers could
now transport explosives to the city and unleash violence. Private
sector employee, T.K. Rubera said: "the Police must carry out some other
measures to maintain high security, unless, terrorists can do many more
damages."
Ven. Pothuwahera Wimala Dhamma Thera lauded the Government for
implementing the Supreme Court decision and asked the VIP officials to
refrain from travelling during peak hours, as closing down roads for
several minutes has also caused another headache to busy people.
Bandula Abeyagunawardana in Colombo requested the officials to
re-establish them outside the city limits. "Waiting at checkpoints a
little time is not a big problem, rather than stopping vehicles a long
duration on the roads until politicians make their journeys".
A banker, Ranjan Kuruppu said that his mother got a heart attack
recently and took her to General Hospital, but had to wait about twenty
minutes at the Lipton Circle Roundabout to pave the way for a politician
to move.
A mercantile sector employee, Sudath Hewage said, "removing of
checkpoints will be a good opportunity for terrorists to bring
explosives to the city".
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