Touts roam Cultural Triangle
Touts hovering around the 'Sandakadapahana' in Anuradhapura are a nuisance
to the large number  of
tourists who visit the site and are also breaking rules by entering restricted
areas.
The 'Sandakadapahana' situated within the Cultural Triangle is out of
bounds for touts and traders. Despite warnings to refrain from conducting
any form of business within the premises, touts and traders encroach into
the area.
Their pestering is said to have a negative impact on tourists.
Heritage sites are protected by a fence and entry is restricted but
touts ignore the rules and offer a deal for tourists to take pictures within
the protected area. Touts charge anything between Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000
to discreetly allow tourists to take pictures inside the restricted area.
Here a trader tries to sell souvenirs to tourists. Such traders earn around
Rs. 2000-Rs. 3000 a day.
Focus on world terrorism
The 17th Interpol Asian Regional Conference will be inaugurated tomorrow
by President Kumaratunga at the BMICH.
The theme of the conference is "International Terrorism", a subject
of considerable interest and concern to all police forces and people in
the world.
Interpol with a membership of 179 nations supports co-operation between
police forces of all nations in fighting international crime, including
drug trafficking and terrorism.
Every two years 47 Asian countries in Interpol come together to discuss
common policing problems and ways of improving international police co-operation
in the region.
The Chairman of the conference Deputy Inspector General of Police (CID)
C I Ratnayake,will lead the discussion for three days.
Interior Minister John Amaratunga, DefenceMinister Tilak Marapana Foreign
MinisterTyronne Fernando, ambassadors and several heads of Government departments
will be present.
Delegates from South Asia, Central Asia, the South Pacific, West Asia
and South East Asia will be present.
The conference is being hosted by the Sri Lanka Police.
Closing clinic doors to young docs?
Grade medical officers are agitated over alleged attempts by a few medical
officers to bring the Kandy chest clinic under central government administration
blocking opportunities to others entering the field.
The change of administration from provincial council to central government
would mean that medical officers can remain in the same hospital without
being transferred.
Some medical officers have expressed displeasure stating that the change
may result in them having to remain in peripheral hospitals only.
Presently only the Welisara chest hospital and the Colombo chest clinic
come under the central government. With government plans to bring in a
'closed service', medical officers would have to practice in their specialised
field and cannot change from one speciality to another as is being done
now. This would mean that the change in administration will give little
opportunity to young medical officers of working in teaching hospitals
if some doctors with vested interests opt to remain in the same hospital
forever.
Some medical officers have alleged that a physician in the Kandy chest
clinic who wished to remain in the hospital was trying to bring the system
under central government administration. |
