Letters to the Editor
View(s):Sri Dalada Wandanawa through the rear door
The preparations for this year’s Dalada Wandanawa were undoubtedly exceptional. However, the sudden influx of worshippers, far beyond expectations, disrupted the entire process. When devotees waited in queues for three days, it inevitably created logistical challenges and unrest among them. This unrest also became a nuisance for residents living near the queues.
Ironically, while these worshippers came for religious purposes, some forgot the fundamental principles of great religions. They attempted to overtake others, discarded waste carelessly, and left the area in disarray. Although a majority of worshippers did not fall into this category, it only takes a few to tarnish the image of the event.
Last Sunday this paper reported on the ‘special’ queue for people wearing coloured wristbands at the exposition
Major media outlets were quick to report such incidents but failed to highlight one of the most troubling issues – the misuse of the rear section of the Maligawa. The so-called pseudo-VIP line was not truly reserved for VIPs. Instead, it was primarily used by individuals connected to the Nilames and temple personnel. Police officers, monks and municipal workers, regardless of their rank, exploited this line. Municipal tractor drivers even transported their friends to the rear gate to join this privileged line. Additionally, van services had been deployed to facilitate their access. Yet, this issue had not caught the attention of major media outlets, which seem more focused on anti-government slogans and public dissatisfaction.
It is worth noting that no politicians used their authority to push their supporters or acquaintances through the rear door. This marks a significant shift in political culture under the current government.
Unfortunately, some citizens lacked the basic decency to avoid using connections and favouritism to worship the Dalada in an ethical manner, while thousands endured long queues day and night. Such actions are selfish, uncompassionate and undoubtedly sinful.
Jan BA Kundasale
A nation in a hurry: The travails of driving in Sri Lanka
Driving in Sri Lanka has increasingly become an exercise in navigating chaos –a cauldron of ill-disciplined, inconsiderate, and at times reckless individuals manoeuvring through a mass of vehicles on our roads. As a nation, we have descended into an alarming state of indisciplineand intolerance behind the wheel. For many drivers, traffic rules and courtesies have become irrelevant, replaced by an aggressive drive to reach their destinations, regardless of the consequences.
For three-wheeler drivers, bus drivers, tipper truck drivers, motorcyclists and those behind the wheel of anything from a compact car to a luxury SUV, the road has become their playground. Rules appear non-existent, as drivers create their own paths and behaviours that jeopardise safety and civility. The value of “right of way” has all but disappeared, leaving the roads dominated by impatience and intolerance, dismissing the age-old virtue of “live and let live.”
The state of disarray
Observations reveal startling behaviours that exacerbate road hazards:
• Tailgating, aggressive overtaking, and blatant disregard for lane discipline are rampant.
• Illegal third lanes appear out of thin air, forcing oncoming vehicles into precarious positions.
• Motorcyclists weave through improbable gaps, swarming around vehicles from all directions like mosquitoes.
• Three-wheeler drivers exhibit a despicable code of conduct, further aggravating the situation.
• Tipper truck drivers act with impunity, speaking on mobile phones while driving and causing numerous accidents.
Additionally, many drivers fail to use indicators when changing lanes, drive one-handed while on their phones, and put children in dangerous situations- allowing them to sit on the driver’s lap or blocking rear windshields with soft toys. Vehicles belonging to the armed forces often disregard traffic laws, posing yet another challenge to public safety.
This crisis demands immediate intervention. Roadside deaths and serious accidents have surged in recent years, and without decisive action, the situation risks becoming irreparable.
Recommendations for change
To restore order and safety on Sri Lanka’s roads, several measures must be implemented:
1. Licence forfeiture and fines: Introduce on-the-spot licence forfeiture for up to six months, depending on violations, along with hefty fines.
2. Lane adherence: Reinstate and enforce strict lane discipline rules.
3. Dedicated lanes for motorcycles and three-wheelers: Restrict these vehicles to a narrow lane in high-traffic zones or mandate their use of the left lane.
4. Tipper truck regulations: Restrict tipper trucks in Colombo during peak hours, with stringent penalties for violations.
5. Mobile phone usage fines: Impose spot fines for drivers using mobile phones while driving.
6. Three-wheeler re-registration: Require a compulsory re-registration process, including traffic violation awareness classes and issuing numbered vests similar to practices in Thailand.
7. Prohibit dangerous practices: Enforce laws banning children in front seats and the covering of rear windshields with toys or other objects.
These interventions demand urgent attention from authorities to curb the escalating chaos and ensure safer, more civilized roads for all.
Brigadier Rohan Jayasinghe (Rtd) Malabe
Television channels need more regulation
Television, which started as an entertaining and soothing form of media, has today, become a misleading and illusory one. Instead of providing the public with important information and enriching entertainment packed with wisdom, most private television channels today thrive on shocking, misleading, society – distorting items.
Even through news bulletins, private television channels distract the people from burning issues on the ground and spark obsession with unimportant and useless topics. They give murders, accidents and court cases excessive time, wasting the valuable time of the viewers, who are eager to learn of things that are crucial to their lives.
Reality shows are another terrible deceit on the future generation of the country. They have a great impact on how youths and children spend their free time, and can destroy all their thinking ability and potential to become worthwhile citizens.
With various issues prevailing in every sector in the country that deserve constant media coverage going unnoticed, most television channels make shows of matters trivial to the public. This practice, in my view, has been the main reason for most of the political and social disasters that have come about in Sri Lanka over the past few years.
Therefore, at this hour of setting about creating a better nation with a proper system and right consciousness, the attention of the relevant authorities should be paid to this crucial aspect of nation-building: the need to ensure that media freedom is enjoyed with the aim of developing society instead of destroying it.
Gayan Hettiarachchi Via email
Pope Francis- the Pope for all
Pope Francis the pope for all,
Showed loving kindness, compassion and mercy to all,
A lover of nature, humanity and all creatures, above all,
Left all his earthly possessions for God’s will.
You led your path to fulfil God’s will,
Met the high and low and showed them right from wrong,
You showed the world the simplicity of high office,
I am sure you taught a good lesson to all.
That this life of ours on earth,
Is just a journey, before we meet our Creator,
So live it with love, compassion and kindness to all,
As on the day of judgement, it is equal to all.
Goodbye our beloved pope,
Please intercede and change the world,
So that there won’t be poverty, wars, famine, corruption, injustice and hatred,
But love, peace, justice and fairness.
A. Pulle, Via e mail
Adios Padre
God and man elected you to be the king of a spiritual kingdom on earth.
But you were the humble servant to all.
Yet, you stood for justice fearlessly.
You stretched a strong hand pleading for peace, compassion and understanding in homesteads, among communities and nations.
Your words condemned the greed destructive to the majority and glorifying a minority.
The whole world witnessed your aching heart, moistened eyes and unending intercessions with the Divine for a joy filled world.
We pray to you humbly now, as you are a member of the Divine realm to transform us, to serve the world with love. You perfumed the world with agape love.
Rose Rupasinghe Samuel , Via e mail
No amount of spraying will help unless source is eliminated
I am a resident of Colombo 6. Next to my boundary wall is a highrise apartment building.
Right against the boundary wall is an unauthorised toilet with just a hole in the ground. I can see mosquitoes spewing out of this toilet and flying into my premises.
We have had up to now four confirmed cases of chikungunya from my residence.
Medical reports are available for scrutiny. The MOH has been kind enough to spray my premises. The PHI and the Environmental Police have visited the source of the mosquitoes.
However, the mosquitoes keep breeding as the unauthorised toilet is still in place. No amount of spraying will be sufficient to eradicate the mosquitoes unless the unauthorised source, the toilet, is demolished.
Do the health authorities have a lack of direction with no proper guidance as to what has to be done?
Until then the chikungunya cases will be surging.
C.I. Edwards Via email
Why are we, the senior citizens neglected
I fully endorse the views expressed by K.K.S. Perera in his Letter to the Editor (the Sunday Times Plus, March 16th). We the senior citizens feel that we are neglected by the government. All including the pensioners are given some relief or other, but we are burdened with more taxes.
We expected the revival of the 15% interest on Fixed Deposits for Rs. 1.5 Million as stated before the election.
We hope the authorities will take notice of this.
R. Easwaran Via email
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