Letters to the Editor
View(s):The smart phone and the not so smart user
The smart phone has become an indispensable parenting tool in the modern world. But like every tool it can be used and abused. Adults are either ignorant of or prefer to see only its uses and to ignore the rest. If he were alive today Alexander Graham Bell would regret that he ever invented the contraption, which is used for everything other than to say “hello”.
A majority of parents rely on the smart phone to keep their toddlers amused. When parents arrive home from work, it is their smart phone the child welcomes.
Not so long ago, schoolchildren neither depended on nor had access to the smart phone. But then came the pandemic. Schools remained closed for months and education was at a standstill. The solution was to provide education online. Children all over the country were handed the smart phone as their sole means of gaining an education. This method of education was new to the teachers as well as the students. So a piece of advanced technology was given to the children without any warning about how to use it.
Online education was uninteresting. But the smart phone offered many distractions. Sadly young girls and boys began using this piece of technology without any discipline or supervision. Of course, the children embraced all distractions……. gaming, opening Facebook accounts. Surfing the internet with gay abandon without any censorship, they are blind to the dangers lurking in chat rooms, speaking easily with adults whom you cannot see and forming virtual friendships.
These children grow up to be teenagers who know not the difference between love and lust. Teenage love affairs used to be innocent pledges of affection, often written on exercise book paper. Today, nude pictures are requested and given as pledges of true love. A picture is but a click away when you own a smart phone. Such pictures can be uploaded to social media in a click if love goes sour. The newspapers carry many stories how the smart phones are being abused for crime and it is disturbing to note that most offenders are students and teachers.
It seems a case where the technology is smarter than the user.
Mayanthi Jayasinghe Via email
Forced to live with endless noise from restaurant while CEA officers hear no evil
De Fonseka Place, Bambalapitiya, Colombo 4 was once a peaceful residential area with respectable people from all walks of life having their homes on this lane and adjoining arterial lanes. Unfortunately, not anymore. A curse has fallen on this lane and adjoining lane i.e., Bethesda Place, with the establishment of a restaurant a few years ago that has grown from a small-scale eatery to a large industrial-scale food factory and hub, supplying food to its branches all over Colombo.
A ‘Mariakade’ type scenario now prevails in this once secluded area.
Residents are now subject to large factory scale noise pollution, plus offensive odours, unpleasant food smells, construction sounds, electric motor sounds, vehicular traffic sounds, banging of vehicle doors incessantly, regular visits of garbage collection vehicles (four times a day), regular visits of lorries, motorcycles, and three-wheel vehicles to carry takeaway food, loud arguments and brawls at times, the congregation of people visiting the restaurant, and unauthorised parking of their vehicles in front of houses.
There is also excessive noise generated by the use of kitchen utensils and equipment located at this premises. Radio music played by the workers of this restaurant has cumulatively destroyed the peace and serenity of De Fonseka Place and Bethesda Place.
The captive residents are forced to put up with unhealthy living conditions while the owner of the restaurant lives in comfort far away.
The loud noises emanating from the kitchen end only close to midnight.
Appeals to the law enforcement authorities have fallen on deaf ears. Despite a number of appeals, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) has failed to provide a decibel meter (to measure excessive noise) for the last two years on the grounds that there should be a prior court order. The most alarming position the CEA officer adopted was that noise prevention laws are not strictly applied with respect to foreign investments. The position in Article 12 of the Constitution that all are ‘Equal before the Law’ is greatly undermined by this position of the CEA.
As a result of incompetence and dereliction of duty by environmental protection officers, ordinary residents continue to suffer from excessive noise pollution.
My health is deteriorating by the day and I am sleep deprived.
‘Distressed Resident’ Colombo 05
Dehiwela Municipal Council turns blind eye to ill-lit Galle Road
Street lights along Galle Road from William Junction up to Mount Lavinia are noticeably dim. It is quite evident that these lights are severely outdated and their low brightness levels are causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians alike. This matter reflects poorly on the Dehiwela Municipal Council and its Maintenance Department, as it seems no timely action has been taken despite the obvious need for replacement.
There are many factors contributing to this problem, which need to be addressed urgently:
1. Height of lamp posts: Lamp posts along Galle road are too low to cover the area adequately, resulting in insufficient illumination. This poses a significant safety hazard and makes navigation difficult for both drivers and pedestrians.
2. Dim bulbs and limited placement: The brightness of the bulbs is inadequate, further exacerbating the visibility issue. Additionally, the lamp posts are fixed only on the seaside of Galle Road, leaving the opposite side poorly lit and prone to accidents.
3. Excessive power consumption: The current bulbs appear to draw more power from the grid compared to the actual intensity of illumination they provide. This not only wastes energy but also adds unnecessary strain to the power supply.
It is indeed disheartening to note that while the shops and roadside billboards along Galle Road are well-lit, the essential street lights have been neglected for far too long. This situation is a disgrace to the Dehiwela Municipal Council and the Maintenance Department, which have seemingly turned a blind eye to this pressing issue for too long.
Ensuring quality of life for the rate payers is a bounden duty of the urban councils, but sadly it is not so in this country.
P. Kunchithapathan Dehiwela
It is the bounden duty of citizens to pay income tax to the Govt.
This is an open letter to Sri Lankans who evade paying income tax and underpay their taxes using various methods even though they earn millions through their businesses and professions.
It is the bounden duty of citizens to pay their income tax to the government. When monthly wage earners whose income is properly documented and legally accounted for, it is unreasonable that others who are liable are not paying or underpaying taxes as their earnings are not accounted for.
B. Joseph Wattala
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