News
No callers at these telephone booths
View(s):The dilapidated remains of telephone booths –a nostalgic reminder of yesteryear- dot our cities and are anachronistic reminders of the past.
Story and pix by Priyantha Wickramarachchi
Today they lie idle along roadsides, memories of ‘good old days’ when people took ‘calls’ both long distance and local with available coins.
Many of these booths are damaged beyond repair. Some of the phone booths have the dialing mechanism but no receiver, while in others the receiver is available, but mechanism to operate them does not function.
There are several of these disused telephone booths found across Colombo. Many of these unused and unattended phone booths, have become the dumping ground for discarded bottles, slippers and a variety of garbage and are infested with a variety of creepy crawlies. In many instances members of the public use the booths to dump garbage.
Since no one seems to have the time nor will to maintain these booths -even for their antique value- it is time authorities remove them completely, as they have become an eyesore.
In country where most people use mobile phones the telephone booth of old has now become redundant.
A kind road user has seemingly donated his slipper
Many unused phone booths, have become a garbage dumping ground.
A selfish soul has made away with the receiver of this machine
This booth tells it own tale… Lankans are not known for civic mindedness 10191130: The entire unit –speaker and dialing mechanism has been removed by some unscrupulous person
In a country where most people own more than one mobile phone, the telephone booth has become redundant