A banana or a sugar coated bun?

This is in response to the article published regarding the circular adopted by the Health Ministry to control sugar content in beverages, published on November 20, 2015. The actions planned to be implemented by the government are commendable but are they really practical and long lasting?

The concern over excessive sugar consumption does require attention but the method the government chooses to address it merely seems like treating a symptom and not solving the real issue at stake. The problem here is that people are not feeling the real weight of the risk of daily consumption of sugar based/concentrated food. If a twelve-year-old was given the option to choose between a banana and a sugar-coated bun, there is a very high chance that he/she will grab the sugar-coated bun. I agree that food and nutrition is a taught subject in schools but how often is this really put into practice? Make your children maintain a nutritious food log, encourage them to maintain their own vegetable patch and most importantly teach them the right portion sizes of consuming different food. Children should be taught the side effects of over-consuming any type of food. Currently this is not included in the syllabus. If the government wants to find a long term solution for this issue, they should invest their time and effort into introducing these ideas into school curriculum first rather than trying to enforce a regulation on serving sugar in restaurants.

Certainly, at the end of the day, it is the choice of the people to decide their food choices but it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the people are given the right and full knowledge of the benefits and consequences of the decisions that they make. A change in a habit can go a long way. May be then the twelve-year-old might learn to pick the banana over the sugar- coated bun!

Maneesha Jayasuriya,

Syracuse, New York.

Ex-NDDCB Chief seeks asylum

It was reported in a morning daily that former Chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Control Board, Dr. Nilanga Samarasinghe is planning to leave the country saying his life was in danger. As such he had written to some of the Western diplomatic missions for help.

The former official claims there are threats from politicians and their henchmen involved in the heroin trade. He said he had done a survey while being the Chief of NDDCB and prepared a list of notorious characters. This he had revealed in TV interviews as well.

The fact that he possesses a list of politicians including Parliamentarians involved in the narcotics trade has caused jitters among the culprits and so they are finding ways and means to see him out of the way. It is no joke to play on one's life, putting his family in jeopardy.

It is strange why the people are kept in the dark as to why he was taken off from the post in which he was painstakingly getting to the bottom of the drug mafia. Whenever a public official is doing an honest job, there are interested parties to put spokes in the wheel to frustrate all his efforts. If not their dirty linen would be washed in the public and their double games would be exposed. It is more often than not that governments come to their rescue by hushing up their misdeeds.

By his sudden transfer are we to assume, the echelons of power do not want to betray their so-called dirty friends who would provide the necessary cash for future electioneering work? What action has the government taken to safeguard the officer's life when he is threatened by these heroin thugs. If you play ball with these miscreants everything would be ship shape; if not it is trouble in the junction!

If the government is genuine in word and deed, it is imperative that it should get to the root of the matter and bring to book all those in the said list, after a thorough investigation. Since the government claims to be genuine then it should act on this serious matter.

Then we could applaud in unison and Ven. Rev. Sobitha Thera would be pleased in his samsaric life.

M. Azhar Dawood

Govt should be fair, strong and tough

The Budget 2016 has been approved. Prices of some items have gone up while prices of others have been reduced. Some privileges enjoyed by senior government servants have been withdrawn and some workers have got some relief. Before taking these decisions the Government should have analysed and discussed in detail the effects of such decisions, because once decisions are taken they should not be changed.

Just making budget proposals is useless, if the government cannot implement them or take action in keeping with these proposals

It is important that the proposals should be fair and correct. Trade Unions, politicians, the Opposition and professionals will make a hue and cry about the proposals but it is not possible to satisfy all sections of the community. Can those who oppose these proposals make a budget to satisfy everyone?

Most of these people who shout are doing so because the budget proposals are not in their favour. Their privileges and perks have been curtailed. A privilege is not a right, it is something in addition to the salary. It can be suspended. Is this country rich enough to give all these privileges to these well paid officers?

They are shouting not because the budget proposals are bad or not because development plans cannot be carried out, not because health facilities are reduced to the poor, education facilities are reduced or not because the cost of living has gone up, it is mainly because their perks and privileges have been curtailed.

Doctors have a strong trade union and governments in comparison are weak. This trade union gets what it wants in the end. Many others too have trade unions to fight for them, unlike the poor people of this country who have no one to fight their cause.Take housemaids for instance or a domestic servant who works for about 16 hours a day- they have no unions to fight for them. We want the government to be fair, strong and tough. Implement the decisions that have been taken. Only a weak government will change these decisions to suit the selfish, organised and privileged few.

D. Weeratunga

Nugegoda