Letters to the Editor

13th May 2001
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Name change alone won't help

A proposal made recently to indicate the nationality of a person as "Sri Lankan" in his birth certificate has resulted in a number of "Letters to the Editor" in the national press extolling its virtues. The writers of these letters appear to be unaware of the futility of the proposed exercise in view of the following:

If all citizens of this country are to be called Sri Lankans, what is the official language of the Sri Lankans? I can almost hear, "The official languages will continue to be Sinhala and Tamil". If Sri Lankans continue to have two official languages, then the division by language and race is complete and no benefit whatsoever will accrue by calling ourselves Sri Lankans.

The proposal amounts to putting the cart before the horse. There are at least four different personal laws applicable to citizens of this country, i.e., Roman Dutch Law, Kandyan Law, Thesawalami Law and Muslim Law. So long as these laws remain in the statute book, legal recognition is available to the different communities and they have to state/declare their race before courts of law/banks etc., whenever there are testamentary proceedings/release of balances of accounts etc.

In such a scenario, what is required is a common personal law applicable to all citizens of this country. Without having such a law, merely to call ourselves Sri Lankans on the birth certificate is futile.

D.C. Abeyratne
Unawatuna


Housing or crowding?

Judging from frequent advertisements appearing in the press, purchasing land in housing estates or complexes has become a popular investment amongst the upper and lower middle classes.

With the increase in population, and better family incomes especially amongst the West Asian returnees, it is natural that they develop a strong desire to start afresh in a better environment.

The companies dealing in real estate are catering to this need and making hay while the sun shines. They buy large tracts of land at cheap rates and break them into very small units with water, electricity and roads provided. But environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing planning is not a priority. Houses are built cheek by jowl and often without proper drainage, sewerage or garbage removal facilities.

The state should step in and lay down rules to avoid these complexes ending up as rural slums. 

Ananda Pilimatalawuwe
Colombo 2


Save this paradise

I had the good fortune to visit the Muthurajawela Visitor Centre recently.

For so little, we saw so much. We were cordially received by a pretty young girl who gave us an explanation about the centre and the rates for visiting the place. The amount is small, compared to other places and includes a two-hour boat ride.

We were taken in two boats and were thrilled to see birds, water lilies, dragon flies and monkeys while journeying through these rich wetlands and mangroves of the Negombo lagoon. 

I'm writing this is to make the public aware that this centre is to be closed soon.

I hope the authorities will do something quickly to stop its closure. 

If the government cannot help I hope some UN organisation will intervene and take it over. Nature lovers please step in.

Sunil R. Wickremeratne
Matugama.


It's a great mail robbery

"Disgusted Citizen" writing in The Sunday Times of 29.4.2001 on the frauds in the Postal Department is not the only victim of these state robbers.

A money order sent by me payable at the Kollupitiya Post Office never reached the address. A complaint about this was treated shabbily. The Deputy Postmaster General who moved in the matter had difficulty in getting a proper response to a telephone inquiry from the money order department. Every officer who spoke on the phone passed the matter to another till the D.P.M.G. threatened to report the matter to the P.M.G. A duplicate M.O. was thereafter issued but for a lesser amount, adding insult to injury. The department is at fault but the customer has to bear the deduction of a few rupees for no fault of his.

Sometime later a money order sent to me was not received by me. The sender had not stated my house number but had declared his name and address on the reverse of the envelope. The letter containing the M.O. should therefore have been returned to the sender. There was no trace of the letter. After protracted inquiries, a fresh M.O. was issued seven months later.

Loss of drafts sent from abroad is common and often highlighted in the press. On two occasions such drafts were not received by me. They had been enclosed in black paper but the postal thieves had removed them. Only the letters accompanying the drafts were received. Another letter and draft were also not delivered.

Now I get them payable to my bank account but I think this is not foolproof as connivance with a bank employee cannot be ruled out. I hope the Minister will improve the service. This cannot be assured as the practice of clipping articles and complaints from newspapers does not seem to be followed by government departments. 

M. Abeyratne
Kurunegala


Cricket oh cricket

Playing pandu with cricket balls and golf balls
Sixty five acres of forest cover were destroyed practically overnight to create the Dambulla Cricket Stadium. Could someone please explain why little Sri Lanka (slightly bigger than a dot on world maps) needs nine cricket stadiums? It will also help if we are told how many cricket stadiums there are in countries with vast territory such as Australia, India, Pakistan and New Zealand. 

My guess is that only Sri Lanka is capable of such folly as to destroy vast tracts of fast disappearing forest cover to create something which is of practically no use to its fast expanding population, and which causes untold misery to animals and birds.

There is agitation once again to open a golf course near Sinharaja Forest. This idea was shelved a few years ago as there was an outcry by environment conscious people. But once again the talk of a golf course has surfaced. Here again it would be interesting to know how many golf courses are already in existence and how many more are planned. Why in the name of sanity do we need so many cricket pitches and golf courses in this little island?

Fertile coconut estates are turned into barren building blocks and named "parks". If this goes on, our younger generation will be sitting in barren "parks" and probably dining on cricket balls and golf balls - thanks to the politicians of all hues.

C.B. Perera
Colombo 4

Let Rupavahini take over

The only silver lining in the dark cloud of our lives is watching a cricket match. Or else it is always the depressing aspects we hear and see (the war, price hikes, protests, abductions, killings etc). Hence it was frustrating when we were deprived of that little happiness in the recent Sharjah Series. Swarnavahini showed us an over with only five balls. If they can't give us a fair deal Rupavahini should take over. They do a much better job and further more people in the remote areas can view the telecast.

C. R. Amarasekara
Colombo 3

What's the price of a smile?

I have never visited West Asia and have little knowledge of the facial features of those who live there. But I believe they would not look so glum as those faces one saw at the Sharjah Trophy presentation ceremony! Is a smile costlier than gold? 

Palita Subasinghe
Kelaniya

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