Amidst an energy sapping heat wave, the CEB yesterday imposed a staggering six-hour power cut with a warning that the situation might get worse, as the monsoon was delayed.
All over the country, people were badly affected and normal life was disrupted. To capture and reflect the mood of the country facing its worst power crisis The Sunday Times spoke to people in different walks of life.
Productivity both in the private and public sectors has gone down and work is generally disorganised. Employees working in places where there are no generators walk out during power-cuts hours, as it is impossible to stay indoors, company officials said.
Some employers have warned that if the situation worsens, they might not be able to pay salaries, because productivity was very low.
Meanwhile, housewives are facing a trauma at home. A housewife in Ratmalana said the power cuts were causing chaos in the family and they were praying for rain.
A secretary in a private firm where there is no generator, but which is air-conditioned said when the power cut is operative we just cannot stay inside the office. Earlier my friends and I went out for a walk in the Fort, but not anymore. We stand outside the office. Computers and the whole works go off and how do you expect one to work, she said.
Vegetable vendor Chandra had quite different experience. I sell my produce in the open market. I need no light or fan. By evening I go home and at home too I don't have fans or a fridge. My family and I are quite used to it. In a way let the rich also feel how poor people exist without a fridge or a fan, she said.
The problems are different everywhere. We spoke to a group of youngsters, who said, "We miss a lot of TV programmes and video films. During the day, its awful. But one in the group said, "Come on let's face it" surely it's not the end of the world.
The worst hit are patients who go for treatment to private clinics and hospitals where there are no generators. An elderly person in a private clinic said let's all pray to God for rain, before the inevitable happens.
The All Ceylon Hindu Congress yesterday appealed to the President to allow an independent team to visit the war-torn Jaffna peninsula.
The Congress in a letter to the President expressed its wish to visit the peninsula and to see the situation for itself and clarify reports that had reached Colombo in recent weeks.
Sugar workers have prevented the entry of executive staff into the premises of the Hingurana factory in Ampara and are operating the factory sans the management, a company official claimed.
The protesting workers are also preventing the transport of sugar and spirits out of the factory, he claimed.
He said trade unions had put forward some demands, including the re-instatement of some employees. On May 14, a joint front of the unions had met the Labour Commissioner and agreed not to resort to trade union action and to hold talks with the management on May 29, he said. But he said an official of the UNP-controlled union, the JSS had informed the company that no executive staff would be allowed to enter the factory and they would also prevent transport of products. He accused the JSS of taking unilateral action, while other unions had agreed to hold talks.
He alleged that executive staff had been manhandled by masked men on May 15 and they had to be brought to Colombo for medical treatment.
A JSS official said, they were not informed of the joint front agreeing to talks with the management. He also dismissed suggestions that JSS could unilateral
President's Counsel K. Kanag-Isvaran gave evidence this week detailing his experience on KL flight 802 to Amsterdam in the Rs. 50 million suit against KLM for humiliating and degrading treatment at the Schipol airport.
The other lawyers, U.L. Kadurugamuwa, senior partner of F.J. & G. de Saram and A. Tittawella are also suing KLM. The matter came up before Additional District Judge - Colombo, U.L.A. Majeed.
Mr. Kanag-Isvaran stated that Mr. Kadurugamuwa, Mr. Tittawella and himself had to be in Athens, Greece and thereafter in Stockholm, Sweden and had approached Carson Cumberbatch & Co. the General Sales Agent for KLM to make their travel arrangements. The arrangements proposed by Carsons required them to travel to and from Amsterdam in the course of their journey to Athens. They immediately informed Carsons that they did not want to go to Amsterdam on their way to Athens not only as it involved additional unnecessary travel up and down Europe but also more specifically because they were aware of instances of Sri Lankan travellers being harassed, humiliated and badly treated when passing through Schipol airport as transit passengers to other destinations.
On the scheduled day of departure not wanting to be late at the airport Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said they left home at about 4 a.m. after having had to wake up around 3 a.m. He said that as instructed by Carsons, they were at the airport at 6.30 a.m. 3 hours before the scheduled time of take off of flight KL 802 and were then informed that the flight had been delayed due to the late arrival of flight KL 801 which was to turn around in Colombo. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran stated that neither Carsons nor the KLM staff at Katunayake had informed them in advance of the flight delay, as they very well could have done having advanced notice of the delay of the incoming flight KL 801.
They were then informed that their flight to Amsterdam was delayed by several hours. They then informed the KLM ground staff at the Colombo airport in Katunayake that they would miss their connecting flight KL 105 from Amsterdam to Athens on the same day. They also pointed out that they had visas restricted to flight KL 105 leaving Amsterdam the same day to Athens and the delay of flight KL 802 from Colombo to Amsterdam would also result in them not holding a valid visa to enter Amsterdam. They then requested the KLM ground staff to make immediate arrangements to re-route them through some other way such as Karachi or Dubai as it was imperative that they go to Athens that night itself as they had a fixed program in Athens beginning very early the next morning. The KLM ground staff informed them that every alternative route they had checked did not have connecting flights to Athens which could take them to Athens the same night and informed them that the best they could do was to go on the delayed KL 802 flight to Amsterdam and take the first KLM flight to Athens the next morning. The KLM ground staff at the Colombo Airport, Katunayake assured them that the KLM staff in Amsterdam would make all necessary arrangements for a comfortable overnight stay for them in Amsterdam at KLM expense and to travel to Athens the next morning.
Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said further that they drew the special attention of the KLM ground staff in Colombo to the endorsements of visas on their passports which were limited to specific flight numbers on specific dates. They were then assured by the KLM staff in Colombo that they would be met by KLM staff in Amsterdam upon disembarkation and taken care of and therefore the restricted transit visas would present no problems to them. Relying on these assurances they then boarded the delayed KLM flight, KL 802 and on board brought to the notice of a senior member of the KLM crew the restricted nature of their transit visas and the consequent change of flight due to the delay in Colombo. They were then assured that since the overnight stay in Amsterdam was as a result of the delay of flight KL 802 in Colombo it would be the full responsibility of KLM for any problems that might arise as a result of it and that KLM would take care of it and requested them to free their minds of any worry. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran stated that Mr. Tittawella not being satisfied, again inquired from the KLM crew member of his worry about the restricted visa and he too was assured that everything would be taken care of and to rest their minds at ease.
Mr. Kanag-Isvaran further said that upon arrival in Amsterdam as they came out of the aircraft and walked out of the chute there were two ladies in KLM uniforms with their customary smile who directed them to transfer desk number 6 for further attention. They then proceeded to the KLM Transfer desk number 6 and Mr. Tittawella having collected all three passports handed them over to the officer at the transfer desk saying that they were passengers from the delayed KL 802 flight. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said the officer at the transfer desk shouted at them "Doesn't Air India get late?" and Mr. Tittawella asked the officer what relevance "Air India" had to them as they were Sri Lankan passport holders and asked the officer not to make racist remarks. The Officer shouted at them even louder.
After a while the boarding passes were issued and they were asked to go to the KLM hospitality desk which was through the passport control counters.
Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said there was no one in sight to seek directions to the hospitality desk as the Airport was deserted and they finally arrived at the top of an escalator which had been switched off. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran recalled the large hall at the end of which the passport control counters were situated. He stated that at the end of the hall at the right hand corner was a cubicle in which one officer was on duty. They walked up to the officer and Mr. Kanag-Isvaran handed him the passports, boarding passes and the tickets to the connecting flight the next morning and said. "We have a problem; can we proceed through?" The officer pointed them to a row of chairs at which other people were also seated and shouted at them, "You go there and sit" in a rude and insolent manner. Seated there Mr. Kadurugamuwa realised by talking to two persons an Iraqi and an Iranian seated near him that they had been put among illegal immigrants from various parts of the world. Immediately they went back to the passport control officer and protested at being put with the illegal immigrants. Ignoring them the Officer yelled at them to go back and sit. They then demanded that the officer look at their passports, listen to what they had to say and treat them in a civil manner. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran recalled that at this point several other officers carrying side arms and handcuffs walked up to them and surrounded them. They protested that they are professionals with valid travel documents and that their passports required them to be treated civilly. They then went back to their seats not wanting to have to deal with those officers. While being seated they observed several white passengers who were with them on board flight KL 802 being escorted by smiling KLM female crew members through passport control. They then went back to the passport control desk and protested. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said a white fellow passenger from Budapest aboard flight KL 802 who had also missed his connecting flight seeing them and being embarrassed by the patent discrimination expressed his concern to the accompanying KLM female crew member who simply ignored them and walked away. The Officer at the passport control desk continued to yell at them to be seated and they had no choice but to be seated with the illegal immigrants. All this while passengers were being escorted past this area and they were all visible to any passer-by as illegal immigrants.
After a while, another officer walked up to them and asked them to disclose the amount of money they had with them. They were then allowed to proceed to the KLM hospitality desk. Whilst going towards the KLM hospitality desk they found their luggage thrown aside in a hall, contrary to the assurances given to them by KLM staff that their luggage would be taken care of and interlined to their final destination. Having picked up their luggage they then proceeded to the KLM hospitality desk at which point they were told that the last bus was about to leave to the hotel for their overnight stay. By the time they got to the hotel it was about midnight. They had been on the move for over 20 hours. The hotel was without any name and was most certainly not the Amsterdam Hilton, as stated by KLM in their answer filed in Court. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran recalled that the hotel did not have a name to it, could only be identified by the reference to it as "Hotel C". They then checked into the hotel and had to carry their own luggage up the stairs to their rooms as the hotel elevator was not operational nor did the hotel have any porters. Early next morning they left their hotel and went back to the Airport to board the connecting flight to Athens. They finally arrived in Athens late that afternoon. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran said that as a result of the delay of flight KL 802 they could not get to Athens as scheduled and contrary to the assurances given to them by the KLM staff in Colombo about putting them up in a comfortable hotel in Amsterdam they could not even get sufficient rest at Amsterdam due to the harassment and degrading treatment meted out to them at the Schipol airport and the undue delay that had been caused as a result of it.
E.D. Wikramanayake with S.L. Gunasekera, Kushan D. Alwis, Harsha Cabral, Ajith St. I Perera and Avindra Rodrigo, Attorneys-at-law instructed by Messrs. F.J. & G. de Saram appeared for the three lawyers.
Crossette Thambiah with Gomin Dayasiri, Mohan Pieris and Prasanna Obeysekera, Attorneys-at- law instructed by Paul Ratnayake Associates appeared for KLM.
Further trial was fixed for June 19, 1996.
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