Letters to the Editor

Check these high-handed private security officers
The photograph showing the brutal attack on a hapless spectator (The Sunday Times of March 12) is both frightening and thought-provoking.

It is only appropriate that some meaningful, effective and expeditious action is taken by the Defence Ministry and the Police against the security firm and the security guard, to check the high-handed attitude of some security men. Some armed services and police force deserters serve in private security establishments. Thus effective measures must be adopted to ensure that security officers do not exceed their legitimate limits in pursuance of their security duties.

The following questions should also be considered and timely action pursued to stop the excessive use of force by private security personnel.

(A) Can private security officers assault or use force on civilians in the pursuance of their security duties? What is the justification and what are the limits?

(B) Are security officers aware of the concept of minimum force and their limits?

(D) Since some security establishments are given the authority to buy and use weapons, what safeguards are adopted to ensure proper use and on what basis are licences to use weapons granted?

The government, the Ministry of Defence and the Police should take immediate action to check this alarming trend and allay the fears of the public.

Plantation industry in deep crisis
A newspaper article recently warned that the plantation industry was on the verge of decline. This article deserves the attention of all patriots because the plantations sector has been the lifeblood of this country for well over a century. If corrective and timely measures are not taken as spelled out by the researchers, the doomsday of the industry is not far away.

Until 1994, the management of Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) was closely and adequately handled by a panel of knowledgeable and competent planters under the able guidance of the then Minister of Plantation Industries Rupa Karunatilake and the subject of monitoring was ably handled by Elmo Abeysundera. Consultants visited the RPC estates every six months to look into aspects such as replanting and in-filling with a view to ensuring maintenance, economic viability of the estates and factory modernization to compete with newly emerging tea producing countries.

Our visits definitely had a salutary effect on the management who was deviating from accepted procedures in all aspects of planting, manufacture including housing and labour welfare.

We urge the new minister to pay serious attention to the problems highlighted in this article. Apart from this, we earnestly appeal to the Minister to have a suitable mechanism to resume the monitoring of the norms stipulated by the authorities when RPC estates were handed over to them for management.
A few plantation companies are doing their best to keep these national assets afloat. Despite economic and other constraints they should be identified and financially assisted by the government to take over other estates that are not doing well. The situation is very critical and all must put their heads together to prevent a serious collapse of the industry.

PSC dead: Public servants’ appeal to nowhere
It was accepted procedure for any public servant to submit appeals to the Public Service Commission through the Head of the Department, if he feels an injustice has been perpetrated against him.

The PSC does not function after the term of its commissioners had lapsed. No new members have been appointed as yet. We are also informed that the duty of the PSC has been delegated to the secretary of the relevant ministry -- to deal with such appeals and take decisions.

In case, any officer is not satisfied with the ruling of the Ministry Secretary, he/she has the right to submit another appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal within four weeks. But unfortunately, it appears that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is entrusted to deal with only decisions by the Public Service Commission and by the Police Commission. In such a situation, any officer submitting appeals will end up at a dead-end thoroughly frustrated as he/she has been denied the legal right to submit appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and obtain relief.

This new Authority was created as there was a definite need for decisions by the PSC to be further investigated and due relief to be granted to officers making such appeals.

Priority could be granted to assist officers to receive their denied but entitled dues early by the authorities.

Government office closed to public
As a senior citizen, I consider it my duty to point out, for future corrective action, a lapse of the highest magnitude on the part of an important government institution in the country.

Around 9.30 a.m. on February 24 I tried to enter the District Secretariat (formerly the grand old Colombo Kachcheri), in Dam Street, Pettah. To my utter disbelief, the security officer informed me that an order had been received to refrain from admitting the public into the premises that morning, due to a meeting attended by the entire staff.

One can just imagine the plight of an octogenarian, resident in the remote south-eastern boundary of the district, who having travelled all the way in more than one bus, had to trudge a long distance from the bus halt to this office, only find himself rudely turned away. To my knowledge, government offices are never closed to the public during normal working hours, unless the government had already declared the day, a special public holiday.

In this instance, it must be emphasized that the action was illegal and highly irresponsible, especially at a time when the government is gearing itself to revamping the performance of the public sector. It is our prayer that displays of such lunacy by public officers will never occur in this country again.

Nugegoda: Nobody’s town
I do hope this letter will be read by someone capable of taking action for the good of all those people who use the road risking life and at Nugegoda.
There seems to be no one with authority or concern for the road-users these days.

Three-wheelers are parked on the pavement, private buses stop anywhere they please, pavement hawkers have no regard for schoolchildren or the elderly, they just put their goods on the pavement and we have to walk on the main road. You dare not say a word, as you will hear words that cannot be printed in this paper in return.

Beggars too camp out on the pavement and at times you can see them stretched out as if they are in a luxury hotel suite. Humble people like me wonder if there is anyone who can help us.

Issue ‘queer’ stamp to mark the Buddha Jayanthi
South Africa, Canada, America, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, France, North Korea are among a few countries that have already issued different shaped (queer) stamps.

Although, Sri Lanka has issued many a rectangular, square, triangular and diamond shaped stamps in various sizes, it has never issued any queer shaped stamp.

Therefore, it is suggested that a stamp of queer shape be issued in Sri Lanka too. Since moves are underway to issue a stamp to mark the 2550th Buddha Jayanthi on Vesak Day in May, shouldn’t we make this stamp a queer shape so that the occasion will be remembered for many years to come?
This will no doubt be appreciated by all the philatelists both local and foreign throughout the world.

The historical value of the occasion will be doubled by issuing this queer shaped stamp of Sri Lanka. I hope this urgent request is favourably looked into by the Philatelic Bureau of Sri Lanka.

Fine the poster candidate
Whenever elections approach, we see posters pasted on the walls, posts, advertisement boards, bus stands and even on road name boards. Year after year, the government is spending massive amounts in cleaning up and removing these election posters.

This has become a nuisance and however much election laws are brought to stop this nuisance, all political parties still continue to paste election posters defying the law.

To bring a halt to this practice, I suggest that the concerned parties and the candidate depicted on the poster should be fined according to the number of posters. The fine should cover the cost of cleaning up and other costs. If this measure is adopted, I am sure that no party or no candidate will ever think of pasting posters as he and his party have to pay a fine equivalent to the number of posters.

Shops out, garbage in
The place in Pettah where a row of unauthorized shops were recently demolished by the authorities, has now been turned into a dumping ground of vegetable vendors.

This has proved to be a great eye-sore, situated as it is, in the heart of Colombo, in an area visited by foreign tourists. Immediate remedial measures should be adopted to clear this place which is now a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Unhelpful attitude
I hope the high ranking officials in state banks will teach their staff how to treat innocent uneducated clients. A bitter experience occurred recently at the Beruwala branch of a state bank when a poor uneducated elderly woman went to make a cash deposit.

I filled the cash deposit slip on her request but forgot to write the date on the form. After a long wait at the counter when the elderly woman's turn came, the officer there refused to accept the form and returned it to her, requesting her to write the date on the form. The frustrated poor elderly woman came out of the bank, crossed the main road and came to me again, to write the date on the deposit form.

What a way to treat her. She had to stand in the long queue at the same counter again to deposit her cash. The counter staff could have easily written the date on the form on behalf of the poor woman. They should learn lessons from the private sector banks on how they treat their customers.

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