Will the newly opened job bank for universty students result in better conduct among the students of the Colombo university. Already executives of many companies had spoken to quite a few university students and offered these students some hope of employment in the private sector for some time now it appeared to be a "no go zone" for a certain type of university student. You cannot blame the private sector. For adopting such an attitude. One trouble maker or rabble rouser can ruin a whole establishment. Nobody starts a business for the sake of heroics or fulfilment of some ideology. They do so out of a gnawing hunger for wealth in most instances.

The companies are not likely to recruit, young women and men without checking on the personal records of these students and the sooner our local undergraduate learns that his student conduct will go a long way in deciding his or her future the better it would be for them all. The universities could ofcourse help them further by — guiding them on deportment and invite top executives of the bigger companies to lecture these students on how to interact when it comes to routine work and how to relate to the public they deal with. It takes a lot to suffer the irascibility and foibles of those you deal with - a fact that you have learnt early in the private sector. The secret as the Britisher told us is to laugh at them and agree with them.

Treatment of AIDS
Every now and then there seems to be some headway made in the treatment of AIDS though no absolute cure seems to be in sight. At least the plight of the AIDS victim is not quite as bad as it was in the eighties. The disease can be kept at bay at least though such mediation may be beyond the reach of many in the third world.

Researchers in America have made a rather useful discovery of a test that helps to find out when a person has been infected. The test can tell the difference between those who have been infected recently and those who have had the disease for years. This would help doctors to decide on what type of treatment they should give the patient.

Tomb of unknowns
What happens to the tomb of the unknown soldier if the soldier is known. Arlington National Cemetery has a tomb of the unknowns. Now there could be a bit of a problem as US Pilot Michael Blassie is now confirmed buried in that cemetery. He had been shot down in Vietnam in 1972 and buried in the tomb of the unknowns.

Now D. N. A. tests have confirmed that the body belonged to Blassie. Naturally Blassie's family would like to remove his remains to a cemetery in his own home. What will Pentagon officials do in case that happens? Will they be able to get the unindentified bones of an American soldier in Vietnam to bury in place of Blassie.

Massive telecom ad. campaign

During these recent days we have noticed that there have been massive SLT advertisement campaign going on both in the mass media and electronic media. Day in and day out we see repeated advertisements in both these media for extra features such as, call forwarding features, call waiting facilty, conference call, call transfer, etc. For these advertisements and SLT is draining big amount of money and it is definitely derived from its customers.

At the same time we notice that so many private companies dealing with almost similar trade are not spending such a massive amount of money in advertisement. In fact these private companies give these extra features to their customers in the package itself at the time of giving the connection. But where the SLT is concerned we noticed otherwise. They first give a connection to a customer and boast of other features in the mass media and electronic media, wasting enormous amount of money.

In fact what the SLT, if they are so interested, to provide these facilities to their customers, they can print leaflets on these extra facilities and attach them along with their monthly SLT bill to their customer. In this they can not only carry the message direct to their customer but also will save anomous amount of money otherwise would be drained in the form of advertisements. The SLT can also, if they so desire, pass on these savings to the customer making considerable reduction in their monthly bill.

The SLT service has become one of the very essential one in this country and there is a big demand which they are yet to cope with. Therefore unnecessary spending of advertisements are utter wastage of public money. Good vine need no bush.

S. Ariyaratne,
Colombo 10.

Krishanthi murder case

I was more amused than surprised to read repeatedly in the press applauses, acclama-tions and hosannas extended to the government and more particularly to the President in respect of the High Court verdict in what is now popularly talked of as Krishanthi multiple murder and rape case. It is beyond my comprehension that when the law and legal mechinery took its natural course why and how on earth can the government deserve any thanks for it. If any party deserves any thanks at all it is the judiciary which should be hailed for its fearless and independent verdict and by no means the government.

In most civilised countries of the world today the judiciary is an independent institution free of interferences and interruptions by the executive arm. In all such countries, we have, too, a machinery for criminal investigations and these two institutions in collaboration with each other handle and deal with criminal elements in the society in accordance with the rules of law that have been laid down.

The conclusion in the Krishanthi case would anyway have been just that under the legal norms prevalent in our country without any fillip being given by the President or any other power that be. In my view, therefore, thanking the President for it is not dissimilar to and as absurd as thanking her for your receipt of an acknowledgement in writing issued by the receiving authority for the payment of your telephone bill!

Or, one wonders whether this thanking exercise imply another significant facet of the whole matter. Does it mean that if and while the law was permitted to take its own course in this particular instance it is nevertheless not so permitted in other instances? Should that be the case, is it not a telling indictment on Her Excellency as against the suggested statesmanship on her part?

To my mind, therefore, thanking the President in this manner amounts to pointing an accusing finger at her by implication although those who think her thus may not have had the sense of mind to appreciate that fact. In fact, it is sad that the President had in the first place to make specific orders to effect an impartial investigation in regard to that almost unimaginably brutal crime.

Does that order not suggest without so many express words that if not for the Presidential orders, the investigations and subsequent prosecutory proceedings would have been partial? Is our society so rotten at the moment that in order to deal with the perpetrators of so gruesome and brutish a crime as the Krishanthi saga, a special presidential directive was required? If that be the case, where does our society stand today and what are we heading for?

Dharmapala Sena-ratne,
Attorney-at-Law.

G.S.T. & C.E.B.

The current billing system of the Ceylon Electricity Board is for their Meter Readers to handwrite the charges on the spot by referring to a ready reckoner they have with them and handing the bill over to the consumer.

Although G.S.T. was introduced from April 1998, the Meter Readers do not show this charge on the bill. It would therefore seem that the C.E.B. expects the consumer to calculate this additional charge and pay it with the amount shown by the Meter Reader. However no such official announcement has been made by the C.E.B. up to date although four months have passed.

Consumers who are up to date in their payments look at the column 'Charge for the Month' on their bills and pay this amount only as payments made previously are never credited in the next bill, mean while the G.S.T. keeps accumulating as arrears in the C.E.B. Computer.

This is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs and it is time that the C.E.B. got it's act together and adopted a proper billing system without playing hide & seek with the consumer.

S. Witana,
Colombo 5.

Galle cricket stadium to status of international level

The decision to give the Galle Cricket Stadium status as an International Test venue is laudable but it is indeed a matter for regret that this has been an instance of 'putting the cart before the horse'. The recent debacle when the inaugural 'test' and the subsequent Singer Nidahas Trophy matches were marred by inclement weather resulting in the pitch being unfit to play on has proved this beyond doubt.

From time immemorial the Galle Esplanade was known to be water prone. The slightest shower turned it into a veritable paddy-field. Worst affected was the outfield as the water would not drain out. Should not this aspect have been looked into before the 'green light' was given to declare the Stadium a Test Cricket venue?

The Dutch canal flowing on the right-hand side of the ground and the sea on the left are both on a highest level than the esplanade. Even a teenager will know that water does not flow upwards. The first step should have been to raise the level of the ground by a couple of feet to bring it to a higher level than the canal and the sea. In addition, drainage system should have been installed to prevent stagnation.

In proof of this contention, I would wish to refer to the land in between the outer wall of the fort and the famed 'Butterfly Bridge' connecting the area to the Viharamaha-devi Park. It too at one period suffered the same fate as the esplanade when there were heavy downpours. But now, it has been filled and levelled, so much so that when vehicles were parked on it by those who turned up to witness the matches, these were literally 'high and dry' while the spectators who thronged the esplanade were left 'high and dry' metaphorically as no play was possible on all three days of the Nidahas Trophy matches!

Time was when fir trees grew round the ground demarcating its boundary and also made a contribution towards absorbing moisture. What has happened to them today? Their branches have been lopped off in a crude manner and they have been pruned in a wrongmanner, the cuts being made straight and not at an angle as should have been done to promote luxuriant growth.

Let us hope that the BCCL will forget about the money that has gone down the drain and start all over again with the correct and qualified personnel if they wish to have the satisfaction of having a wonderful, picturesque ground to offer as an International Test Cricket venue.

P. W. J. Seresinhe,
Galle.

How if grown-ups are innocent like children?

Recently I was walking down Milagiriya Avenue where two ladies came from the opposite side, one of them carrying a small child in her arms. The child, a girl, on seeing me started to smile and extended her hands towards me as if she wanted to come to me. I also smiled at her and waved at her and passed the ladies and the child.

While passing them I remembered about the toffees I usually carry in my pockets to be given to small children, like one of the characters in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and fished into my pockets and found one. So I turned back and walked towards the child, who had, by now, turned back over the shoulder of the lady who was carrying her and started to wave at me with a smile. I went up and gave the toffee to her.

One of the ladies said to the child to say ''Thank you'' to the uncle. 'But the child, I think, was not that old enough to speak those words, but she, on her own, waved her hands with a broad smile on her face, which was the way she expressed her thanks.

How happy the world will be, I thought, if only the grown-ups are like the children. Love the others, communicate with them even without knowing the other's language, welcome them without looking into whether the other person is of his or her age group gender, race or religion, caste or status or country and so on.

All the children are like this child. They are born innocent as the grown-ups had also been born. But after we are born the family, the relations, neighbours, the society and all make us be anything but good, innocent and peaceful.

That is what, I think, that made Christ to say to his disciples when they rebuked the people who brought their children to Him to be touched by Him, after taking the children to Him.

''Let the children come unto me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these''.

Arul
Colombo 13.