Fortune on the 'Lucky lane'

by Chanuka Mannapperuma

Lotteries are universally known as the stepping stone to a 'lucky lane'. To try your luck on this lane, of course you have to purchase lotteries to make your dreams come true. In Sri Lanka, there are a plenty of lotteries and winners are more than before.

Therefore, you can be certain that fortune will smile on you sooner or later, either in a big way or the other which will bring you comfort and joy.

Today we see different types of lottery tickets being sold, most of those who sell tickets are educated people and some are graduates. According to research they have taken to this occupation because they do not have proper jobs to suit their education. By selling tickets, some accrue income to meet their daily needs.

But...the harassment they get from the people is unbelievable. Some are blind, disabled and mentally retarded.

Sometimes these poor sellers are taken for a ride. Upali Liyanage, Chairman, National Lotteries Board (NLB) said, there are more than one million people who depend on selling lottery tickets. This is a good means to earn money than indulge in robberies and other nefarious activities.

Additional General Manager Ashok Witharana said there were many who had made a living by selling lottery tickets. But, many have reported about harassments they suffer from the Road Development Authority, police and Municipal Councils. "You can see a blind lottery seller standing on the overhead bridge in the Fort railway station showing a lottery ticket to commuters passing by to board trains.

The world is blind to him, but he stands for hours to feed his family. Though blind in life he may have created millionaires in this country" Witharana said.

He said, "Our first lottery seller is Sirisena, who sells tickets in Borella. He started selling tickets 44 years ago, when a ticket was priced at 50 cents. Now his entire family is selling tickets".

"We have another disabled polio person who walks from Pandura to Colombo". Though he has informed us about harassment by new lottery sellers and the public, it's difficult to stop public harassments", he said.

"Everybody is trying to earn their bread and butter. We should help these people. Sometimes they come to us holding our luck. From a ticket they get only Rs. 1.50 he said. That is how they earn their daily needs," he said.

He said, to safeguard these people a scholarship programme has been already introduced for the sellers children apart from an Insurance scheme for the sellers. He said, NLB is planning to give bicycles to all agents.

Explaining the contribution to the country he said, "the NLB contributes a significant amount of money to the consolidated fund. At present we have around 4,000 large scale dealers and 40,000-50,000 district agents Islandwide," he said.

The NLB has 10 lotteries Mahajana Sampatha, Govisetha, Jayaviru, Vasana Sampatha, Supirivasana, Shrama vasana, Lotto, Sevana, Samurdhi and Airport super draw, which has eight draws a week.