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Morning Spice by Ginger
Nugegoda not active as in other yearsGinger was pleasantly surprised when he could walk along the pavements of Nugegoda till about the 15th of December. It was something he dared not do in the past. Nor does he know whether the hawkers came back at full strength later on in the month on the whole. They are excellent pulse feelers and know where the cash is at a given moment and where they should go to collect it. Now Nugegoda which was fast becoming the real nerve centre of commerce in the suburbs did not seem quite as active as other years.
Many a shopper would come there mainly because one could pick up a bargain or two. It helped out heavily on end of the year expenses and Christmas gifts. There were the usual shoppers knocking around but they didn't have the same crazy, frenetic look they had in the past. Was it because prices had gone up or real incomes had shrunk considerably or both. It would be sheer hell for the hawker if it was for the last mentioned reason. Really it could be hell for most of us!
Wonder drug
They all welcomed it when it came into the market. They went ga-ga about re-dux which helped you to reduce the easy way. Soon however doctors began to have reservations about this wonder drug. They discovered that their patients began developing heart valve problems.It was discovered that continued doses of the drug could cause thickening of the heart valves which could come a backward flow of blood and collecting of blood that leads to serious comp lications. If on the other hand you took the prescribed dose and then went off the drug in about three months there was much less risk involved.
Hong Kong's present position
How has Hongkong fared after it was handed back to China. Has the sparkle gone out of Hong Kong's night life and its more exclusive shopping centres. On the contrary life appears to be even more souped up than it was but is appearing to be more Chinese in character than when it was under British administration.Many say that Hong Kong is now no longer the gateway but an integral part of China and is very much like what Shanghai was in the thirties when it was known as the Paris of the east. Where dining was considered an art but often too much wine went with it. People dressed in the most expensive kits imaginable and life in general was hectic.
Proposed sale of NHDA flats
A ‘communist’ minister’s unkind ActCricket is the raging sport in this fair isle but ‘playing pandu’ is becoming a close second. In Sri Lanka it is the sport of Presidents, Ministers, the lowly MP and not forgetting the ‘bureaucrats’ who administer our Government Departments & Corporations, Boards, Authorities etc.
I refer to the NHDA (National Housing Development Authority) as one example for utter stupidity and lack of authority. The NHDA has constructed hundreds of flats, for the lower & middle income groups and these tenants have been in occupancy for twenty to thirty years on a rent basis of Rs. 125 to 250 per month. The understanding was that the flats could be purchased at reasonable cost and less the total rental paid. I understand that in a housing scheme coming under the Wellawatte area, some of the flats were sold to tenants at a price of Rs. 179,000 less rentals making the final balance payable as Rs. 75,000 (approximately). Well, without any warning whatsoever, the NHDA recently sent out a circular, advising the tenants that the flats have been valued at Rs. 18 1/2 lakhs and the purchase price (after deductions) is Rs. 580,000. How do you suppose these tenants, who are pensioners, government servants etc. can afford to pay this amount, which has been computed arbitrarily. I understand that the Tenants Association wrote a letter to the General Manager with copies to the Chairman and Minister, with hundreds of signatures of tenants, appealing against this decision and injustice. It is not surprising that the Association has not even received an acknowledgement or even the courtesy of a reply. If this is not ‘Playing Pandu’ with the public, may I ask WHAT IS?
Rexy,
Colombo 06
The chairman of the Sri Lanka Telecommuncation Regulatory Commission went on record the other day saying that Telecom had raked in millions of rupees from potential subscribers on the promise that they would be given telephones soon. He said that Telecom had failed to carry out their promise and those who had advanced the money had been left gnashing teeth.
This is true and the good chairman has to be complimented for his courage and concern.
But I think he failed to refer to other telephone companies who have made similar promises and pocketed millions of rupees. For example, when Lanka Bell entered the market, they offered a special package to those who were employed and collected thousand rupees as the downpayment on the condition that the balance had to be paid when required.
I am a person who fell for this. I advanced one thousand rupees and waited for the quality ring that I was promised. Over one year has lapsed and I have yet to receive the ring. Forget about the ring at least the receipt for the money I paid.
Will the good chairman also kinldy look into this matter? There are hundreds if not thousands of people like me. The same rule that applies to Telecom must also apply to others in the field.
Thank you Mr. Chairman for your bold statement. But don't forget that we are also there awaiting the promised telephone.
On seeing this this company might want to return my thousand rupees. I won't none of it. What I want is a telephone as promised. If they want to return my money I want it back with compensation.
Perera
Nawala
The glorious ‘certainties’ of cricket
High praise and congratulations are due to the National cricket selectors - at long last they have made clear to all cricket lovers their policy and direction.
Eight of the squad to Australia are from the SSC - Great work! The selectors must be given every encouragement and support to continue in this direction, so that very soon we shall have ten of the national eleven from the SSC. We shall then reach once again the glorious heights of those halcyon days of the late forties when more than 90% of the National Team was from the SSC and the SSC ‘A’ team met the SSC B' in the Division 1 finals. When these heights are reached, a wonderful new era similar to the decade of the 50's will dawn and dear old Sri Lanka will be able to vanquish the rest of the World in every kind of cricket.
Please national selectors pursue your policy rigorously so that once again the brilliance of Sathasivam's, Coomaraswamy’s, Reid's, Tissera's, Fuard's, Lafir's, Bartels', Gunasekera's, Crozier's, Claessen's, Inman's, Jayasinghe's, Buhar’s, Ponniah's, Pieris' etc. will be unleashed into an otherwise barren world of cricket.
We must all hope and pray that the selectors will keep up the good work.
K. Bandara
Our concern about parliamentarians has become quite significant now a days as they sit in judgement of our destinies and our inquisitiveness about them is really natural. So our information is that the parliamentarians are getting a substantial allowance for each sitting in Parliament in addition to their usual monthly salary.
If it is a justifiable norm, why shouldn’t the other public servants like teachers, clerks and such other categories too be paid a similar incentive allowance for each working day at least Rs. 50 not a colossal amount like Rs. 750 but only 1/15th of that, in order to cushion the drastic impact of the highest ever cost of living, the index of which being 2347.5.
The proposed pay increase for the parliamentarians is reported to be 65 per cent and some time back, the salaries of working public servants were increased by 30 per cent in view of the unprecedented high cost of living. But the poor pensioners too were given five per cent in the first year and another five per cent the following year. This is how anomalies are created and these percentages are really fantastic, Parliamentarians 65 per cent, working government servants 30 per cent, retired government servants five per cent. This shows the type of contemptuous attitude the rulers have towards the helpless pensioners.
The government says that they have given everything to the pensioners, for example the highest pension rate in the world, 90 per cent of the salary, whereas even in advanced countries pensioners get only 40 per cent of the salary etc. But in reality an average pensioner gets a little over Rs. 3,000 a month, which actually comes to less than Rs. 125 a day. In reality a daily paid labourer gets Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 a day.
By all means that is justice because he also must get a living wage. But the tottering pensioner is not getting a living pension by any means.
I have put in 35 years of service as a teacher of English, retired in 1986 and now getting a pension of Rs. 3,729 a month, which comes to Rs. 125 a day. But the new pensioners with my qualifications and even shorter periods of service are getting pensions nearly three times mine. Some school Principals who retired prior to 1985 are getting pensions even less than what I get. How strange!
The wonder is that the high and mighty cannot see the grave injustice involved in such an extremely sensitive area as our means of livelihood. Can any person with an iota of justice and fairplay justify such chaotic and piecemeal adjustments under the pretext of eliminating anomalies!
Let us have a look at the two pension structures — Parliamentarian pensioners, for a term of five or six years are entitled to a handsome pension more than six times that of the ordinary pensioner who had put in 30 to 40 years of service. But we cannot understand how far these discrepancies are in conformity with the accepted ethical values of civilized people! Adding insult to injury the newly imposed GST our main cause of suffering is ever ringing the death knell to us whenever we think of buying our indispensable requisites like medicines, invalid foods, groceries, vegetables, fish etc.
Under these pathetic circumstances, the high and mighty at times, talk of reducing or doing away with the pensions of the ordinary pensioners and thereby inflict mortal fear on these ailing pensioners so that they will go to heaven or attain Nibbana instantly. Anyway during election times we are fortunate enough to become respectable senior citizens and also we hear of rosy promises to supply us with luxury holiday resorts, enhanced pensions, so on and so forth. But during other times the very same pensioners automatically become useless idlers. What a cruel fate!
Useless Pensioner,
Kottawa
In the ‘Noble eight fold path’ that the Buddha preached, which every Buddhist should practice if he wishes to end suffering. One of the steps in this ‘Path’ is right livelihood. This means to choose a right means of living; these being according to the Buddha:—
1. Not to trade in flesh
2. Not to trade in intoxicating liquors
3. Not to trade in arms that destroy life
4. Not to earn by gambling
5. Not to trade in slavery
If we who call ourselves Buddhists, consider how many of us earn a living by wrongful means, I think more than 50% of the Buddhists earn by dabbling in these sinful trades.
I am sorry to say that even in a country where 75% of the population is Buddhist — the Government itself is encouraging people to earn by sinful ways such as, breeding of animals for slaughter, rearing fresh water fish for human consumption, issuing liquor licenses freely to help people trade in intoxicating liquors, large scale deals in arms for killing in the war, allowing gambling by casino owners and permitting gambling stalls in carnivals etc. and the sale of lottery tickets by the state.
The Buddha said "Attahi Attano Natho" — (self is the lord of self)
Each one of us must strive hard to avoid wrong ways of earning a living, however lucrative the trade may be and live by right means.
Dr. C. Godamnue,
Kandy Humanitarian Society
I am a person who comes to Colombo often for various purposes. I travel by bus and go to places like Fort, Town Hall and Kollupitiya. These are busy places where thousands of people converge to everyday.
But, sad to say that I have not seen a public convenience in these areas and wonder how so many people answer a call of nature.
When the need arises I often walk into a wayside hotel and order something to eat althought I have no need for it and in the mean time answer the call. That is for this purpose I have to spend at least Rs. 15 that being the amount I have to pay for food I have to partake of to be permitted to use the hotel toilet.
Everyone cannot afford this 'luxury.' How can a poor person who come to Colombo do it. You cannot have access to toilet by simply ordering a plain tea. These hotel chaps are very clever. Plain tea on the other hand is ther for the asking and you have no time to slip into the toilet beteen placin the order and the deliver.
The city is being given a facelift. There are giant boards adorning streets and scores of CMC employees busy cleaning them. This is praiseworthy. The new mayor is doing his best to keep the city clean.
But at the same time I appeal to him to given serious thought to the lack of public lavotories in the city. I am sure they are some, but in a hurry one cannot find any. They should be located in places where people have easy access.
Dr. Hemantha Wickremasinghe
Ambepussa
BTT and GST on motor insurance claims
BTT used to be a levy on a business, but the uncontested practice was for the same to be turned over to the consumer.
When it came to insurance of motor vehicles, the insurer too charged BTT from the insured on the premium. The insurer thus became liable to meet the BTT charged by a repairer on the cost of repairs approved by an insurer in providing the insurer with indemnity under their policy. However, it took some time before certain insurers were made to understand the logic in that connection.
BTT has since been replaced by GST but that is only a change in the term, and the same practice as with BTT prevails. But there seem to be insurers who do not possess sufficient commonsense, to follow the same principle as in the case of BTT. They seem to be under a misapprehension that GST has a different meaning and purpose. The insured has, therefore, to educate errant insurers before the former obtains reimbursement of GST met by him on accident repairs approved by the insurer.
One wonders when some of these lesser-informed insurers will learn from their mistakes
C. S. A. Fernando,
Moratuwa
Rambling Notes by Nihal Corera
Lessons in public relations for our cricketersGoing by what one reads in a letter to the editor recently that the cricketing heirarchy was toying with the idea of hiring. An Australian P.A. firm or individual to give our cricketers lessons in public relations or English tuition. Anyway that seemed to be the general idea that reader conveyed.
For sheer unadulturated humour it was hard to beat. It was about the most rib-tickling piece one read in the media recently. The way our cricketers have fared would suggest that an Australian coach might do our cricketing image much good. As for P.R. or language coaching many would not pick on an Australian for such a task.
In fact their P.R. is about the same as our cricket. They are excellent at sledging no doubt but we have heard few laudatory reports about Aussie P.R. In fact there have been many complaints. About Aussie P.R. on the field on their recent English tour. The Aussie on an average has recently acquired a reputation of being a little crusty and cussed.
It is at cricket that he has excelled. There is no two words that in the field he plays the game hard and plays it well. There is much our cricketers can learn from the Aussie on the field. There is a ruggedness about those cricketers that make them worth emulating. We acquired a similar kind of toughness for a brief while but lost it in on the way.
And now there is the suggestion that we pick up a little English from the same source in the process. Heaven forbid that. The Australian has not been any too kind to the queen's English and let's hope that our boys would not speak English the way its spoken 'down under'. They would look more than a little funny combining an Aussie accent with Sri Lankan grammar.
But why worry about teaching our boys the link language. They speak it well enough to get what they want when they are on tour. In fact going by the reports we receive our boys get far more than their actual needs when they were on tour. They seem expressive enough where getting what they want goes.
What actually are they expected to gain by brushing up their P.R. Our opponents would love that. They would indicate that dressing room accord will be better achieved by relaxing on the field. Now a P.R. man might even include dialogue with bookies as part of the course. Who knows where this strange and bizarre course would take our cricketers.
There are many virtues and capacities one is willing to credit the Australian with. He is in many instances a downright and forthright individual though that image has been sullied recently. But one would possibly pick on another national to guide as on P.R. and spoken English. The Aussie one feels uses far too many four letter words to be a really orthodox English tutor.
A salute to the Ports Authority
Advocates for Patients Rights could not have been more happy than to read the 12th of December Letter (CF/31/94) issued by the Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital announcing that the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has undertaken to take care of a ward in the hospital. It is about time that other profit making government agencies too contribute and take up a part of such burdens from hospital administrators.
It is my pleasure to congratulate the Minister and the Management of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority for attending to a dire need of the health care system of Sri Lanka - the physical and psychological needs of the patients at Mulleriyawa Hospital. The Ports Authority has undertaken to take up the task of providing services to a most forgotten group in Sri Lanka, the mentally ill patients of Ward 20. Until recently only selfless NGOs had the strength to undertake such activities.
However, I should warn that giving that extra care to mental ill patients can be frustrating at times. It is much more than maintaining the buildings. Regular visits should be made by Ports Authority volunteers to interact with these patients in the mental hospital. They may even get the assistance of other Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in the locality. Unless out-siders are allowed to visit such asylums, human right of patients can freely be violated. In fact recently there were allegations that mentally ill patients are being sexually abused in hospitals with the knowledge of the staff. The current government amended the Penal Code of Sri Lanka specifically to include rape that takes place in hospitals such as mental hospital in 1995. Another allegation that has surfaced recently is that patients who are fit for discharge are being imprisoned in wards by relatives who pay the channelling fee to doctors.
The Minister of Ports and Rehabilitation should visit this ward and see the good work the Ports Authority is doing. This will encourage both the hospital and Ports Authority staff.
Dr. H. Jayawardena
Colombo
