| Letters
to the Editor |
|
|||
|
Don't trigger
counter-attack by nature In my garden
are coconut trees, jak, nedun, wetakeiya, rambutan, mango, dambala,
arecanut, divul and domba. But many of them were planted by someone
who is now in a better land. Ancient people
have showed that it is possible to live off natural resources without
exhausting them and without eradicating other living species. Unfortunately,
however, alien people came to this land and were in a hurry to exploit
this wealth until there was none left. At the heart of this behaviour
is the quest for happiness through possession. I, for my part, try
to align myself with the messages of people who heed the lessons
learnt from history, experience and wisdom. If you love
trees, visit Sinharaja and see our trees in their pristine glory.
The Sinharaja region has long featured in the legends and lore of
the people of Sri Lanka. The name literally means lion (sinha) king
(raja), perhaps referring to the original 'king-sized or royal forest
of the Sinhalese', a people of the legendary 'lion race' of Sri
Lanka. Sinharaja is
the last extensive primary lowland tropical rainforest. It holds
a large number of endemic plants and animals, and a variety of plants
of known benefit to man. More than 60 percent of the trees are endemic
and many of them are rare. It has been declared a natural heritage
wilderness under the National Heritage Wilderness Areas Act. Man is the
great trespasser where streams and woods make up the natural world.
His transgressions mark him as an infamous mischief-maker. No matter
what he does in forest or jungle, he upsets ecology. By disfiguring
and destroying the forest, he disturbs the calmness of the countryside. John Still
maintained that "five hundred years will not serve to make
a field into high forest". The dry zone which covers three-quarters
of this island was regarded as a region of risk "a desert through
sickness". In the jungle,
nature has its own way; it is the place where she has set up a system
of balances and counter-balances to keep the numbers of the micro-community
in hand so that none may get out of control. Between the
society of earth-residents and the brotherhood of trees there is
a co-existence which can perhaps be likened to the quality of life
in Jane Austin's England of which it has been said that "no
one seemed to govern; no one seemed to be governed". The Centre
for Tropical Forestry states that today deforestation continues.
Slowly but surely rainforests are being cleared to provide land
for agricultural crops and cattle-grazing. If our luxuriant
forests are to be conserved for posterity to enhance forestry's
contribution to the rural population, it is imperative that the
gravity of the situation be recognised. It has been
argued by a great land reformer of the last century that, "the
test of a nation's culture and civilisation is its treatment of
the surface of its land". The folly of widespread and unsystematic
destruction of trees and woodlands leads to grave man-made disasters
and triggers counter-attacks by nature against the human race. Buying
MPs' silence with safari jeeps The UNF government
which is always critical of the PA for the present high cost of
living is stupid enough to embark on this expensive bonanza for
the legislators without the slightest hestitation. The reason
- to silence a few legislators on both sides of the House who are
obstructing the peace process. On the contrary,
do these politicians deserve this bonanza and if so at what cost
to the state in foreign exchange? This is something similar to the
pot calling the kettle black and Nero fiddling when Rome was burning.
It's time the
Prime Minister woke up from his slumber. President, PM
should unite for peace If not, will
the peace process be back at square one? That is the fear in the
minds of peace-loving people. Colombo's Archbishop
Oswald Gomis, who was given a reception by President Chandrika Kumaratunga,
submitted a 'humble' request that the government and the President
reconcile and unite to solve the ethnic problem to bring peace to
the country. Will the President
and the Prime Minister take this plea to heart and come to an agreement
to make the peace process a success? Psycho-social
analysis for university entrants Their family
backgrounds have great influence on their behaviour. Therefore,
we cannot blame our educational institutions for producing students
like this. Psycho-social analysis of students is of paramount importance
in detecting such personalities. So it is advisable to subject all
students to a mental assessment. The ones detected
with such attitudes should be treated and rehabilitated. A system of
psycho-social analysis of students and appropriate approaches to
their problems should be programmed from primary education. Sparks of 'peace' Stamp of the
past: From post to port Seeing the
photograph of architect H. F. Tomalin rang a bell in my mind. Despite
the passage of time, the name continues to be inscribed on the ancient
eastern port of Kalkudah, 20 miles off Batticaloa. Tomalin had
been the architect of the Kalkudah jetty when he was provincial
engineer there. The jetty was a busy place then with a large number
of vessels from South Indian ports such as Visagapatinam and Nagepatinam
bringing stocks of Calicut tiles and taking back copra. ICC
tournament: the shame behind the success But our enjoyment
was unfortunately marred by the lack of many important facilities
that are available at international cricket venues abroad. Despite
these shortcomings, the local media were generous to the organizers,
with accolades such as "Bouquets for the BCCSL from ICC'',
"ICC hails SL for a spectacular tournament successfully concluded''
etc. The hardships undergone by cricket lovers were not highlighted.
Despite the
colossal amounts spent by the organizers, the parking and toilet
facilities as well as the public transport arrangements left much
to be desired. No buses were arranged by the organizers for spectators
of day/night matches which usually end around 10.45 p.m. No parking
facilities were provided for thousands who travelled in vehicles
from other cities to an unfamiliar venue. Requests made repeatedly
for public transport arrangements fell on deaf ears. Another flaw
was that advertisements announcing that tickets for all matches
were available at Cargills Food City outlets, BCCSL and at the gate,
continued to be telecast and published in the print media even after
the tickets had been sold out for the important matches. Thus, before
the start of crucial matches, fans flocked to the grounds from morning.
No information was conveyed over the public address system that
all tickets had been sold out. So, about 10,000 cricket fans were
stranded outside the stadium. Meanwhile,
despite the obvious importance of such a tournament, the organizers
did not have the foresight to erect a giant screen outside the stadium.
For that matter, the organizers did not provide a giant screen even
inside the stadium. Security was,
however, tight especially for the non-affluent fans who were subjected
to comprehensive body checks as liquor was prohibited. But some
service personnel in civvies who flashed their identity cards were
allowed in without scrutiny. Some official Pajeros and jeeps packed
with friends, kith and kin were allowed into the official car park
without any obstacle. Another shortcoming
was the lack of TV monitors: 95% of the stands were devoid of TV
monitors which is a shame for an international cricket stadium.
We entered the stadium at 11 a.m. and could not answer a call of
nature until we came home at 11 p.m. There was neither room to leave
our seats nor did we have access corridors to reach the inadequate
toilets as the stands were jam-packed. Due to the lack of toilet
facilities, an unbearable stench of urine emanated from outside
the stands. These drawbacks
have to be brought to the notice of the officials of BCCSL who have
not shown any concern for the great majority of cricket fans. I
suggest that the Chairman of the Interim Committee and the CEO of
BCCSL watch a match from a packed stand in order to get an idea
of the sufferings and frustrations of cricket fans and then make
suggestions to remedy these deficiencies before the next international
match is played at the Premadasa Stadium. 'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to steditor@wijeya.lk or stfeat@wijeya.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
