ELECTIONS WOES OF PAPER AND PASTE
By Shanika Pitigala
Pic By Manilka Jayasingha
2013-09-05
Seasons go and seasons come, every day is a new start they say, and yes, every new day brings about new events. When one ends another begins. As the enthusiasm of the Perahera, the drum beating and the whip cracking ends, when the decorated streets of Kandy are rearranged and normalcy returns, it’s that time again for another set of activities!
No sooner the religious decorations came down, each lamp post, each parapet wall seems to be getting new wall papers of different colors and shades. All picturing different faces, and then it strikes- it is now the time for election propaganda. And it has commenced in a ‘gala’ manner.
Well of course, how can one win a contest without a proper canvassing process? The office of each candidate is also decorated in the respective colors as represented by the party to which they belong. Also displayed are large size cutouts and posters. The wonder is what a lot of unknown persons and yet again what a large number of candidates.
The other morning my eyes ached as I strained harder than ever, and looked even for a little piece of space on the brick walls, but failed. All I could spot were faces of people and each face placed in a square had a cross next to their ‘preferential number’. Well, I must say, one has a wide selection of faces to choose from. Then there are all those flags of different hues hanging at each corner of the respective offices of candidates and the surrounding areas.
I could not help but notice, the very neat and artistic handwriting on the middle of the road which leads to my house. Well, first I only saw one then to realize it just did not stop at one. There were several such writings on the tarred roads, displaying the symbol and the number, of certain candidates contesting at the Provincial Council elections to be held in September.
Pic By Manilka Jayasingha
2013-09-05
Seasons go and seasons come, every day is a new start they say, and yes, every new day brings about new events. When one ends another begins. As the enthusiasm of the Perahera, the drum beating and the whip cracking ends, when the decorated streets of Kandy are rearranged and normalcy returns, it’s that time again for another set of activities!
No sooner the religious decorations came down, each lamp post, each parapet wall seems to be getting new wall papers of different colors and shades. All picturing different faces, and then it strikes- it is now the time for election propaganda. And it has commenced in a ‘gala’ manner.
Well of course, how can one win a contest without a proper canvassing process? The office of each candidate is also decorated in the respective colors as represented by the party to which they belong. Also displayed are large size cutouts and posters. The wonder is what a lot of unknown persons and yet again what a large number of candidates.
The other morning my eyes ached as I strained harder than ever, and looked even for a little piece of space on the brick walls, but failed. All I could spot were faces of people and each face placed in a square had a cross next to their ‘preferential number’. Well, I must say, one has a wide selection of faces to choose from. Then there are all those flags of different hues hanging at each corner of the respective offices of candidates and the surrounding areas.
I could not help but notice, the very neat and artistic handwriting on the middle of the road which leads to my house. Well, first I only saw one then to realize it just did not stop at one. There were several such writings on the tarred roads, displaying the symbol and the number, of certain candidates contesting at the Provincial Council elections to be held in September.
http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-features/item/20540-elections-woes-of-paper-and-paste.html
The first signal of the elections was like the whip crackers signaling the arrival of the Perahera- the posters started appearing. They were mainly on walls of houses which are by the roadside. Parapet walls, other facades, lamp posts, nothing was spared. There was only one thing missing, the preferential numbers.
One day very recently while driving home, I spotted a little girl struggling to remove the posters that were pasted on the private wall of her home. If one were to count she had removed over three to four posters that were pasted one on top of the other. To our surprise they were not of the same party, but of different parties! Oh well, and she goes, ‘why have they pasted them on our wall?’ Well you haven’t got the right to vote yet, so don’t bother, was the remark of a passerby.
Anyways, to a point the propaganda process is vital for the contestants, time will decide who the winners will be but the issue at hand is the amount of paper that is being used up for the posters. Also the environmental impact of these posters on the hill country or rather the country on the whole.
On an earlier occasion when the environmental conditions in Kandy Town were discussed, it was highlighted that paper and garbage were big time polluters of the City. Now the issue at hand is, where would all these posters and cutouts end up, when removed, on the given deadline.
That’s the time when all propaganda material is removed from the visible corners of the city. A beautiful city that is said to have survived time and tide and is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site is now covered with paper and paste. Not even one single surface is spared by the poster campaign that is being conducted to perfection.
For those pasting the posters, the best time of the day is after nightfall, with the least hindrance to the public. No harm done, in that I guess, nights are peaceful when most are in their homes sitting in front of the Television, there again news flashes and advertisements are constantly running giving notices about the upcoming election.
When the elections ‘saga’ comes to an end, some of the free cattle roaming the streets would have had most of the walls cleaned as they would be seen chewing the papers and posters instead of the grass. However, the matter of concern is the beautification process of the City, where several development projects are now on the cards, while some are already on course keeping in mind that Kandy is a city in which, most of the buildings are preserved as being of archaeological value and importance.
Sometimes by morning we see, these posters in the drains or by the roads without regard to the Party and the persons represented by the posters. Who are the offenders? Or another may question, is it an offence? As for the answers, all would say, it is all a matter of time, till the elections are over.
Why should we wait for certain officials or organizations or any person involved in environmental protection to come remove the posters? And a couple of days later for news items to be flashed saying large amounts of posters were removed.
However, there is a closely fought contest to secure the 25 seats in the Kandy Province. Well, with a record of 17 recognized political parties in the fray for the elections, there is propaganda material to match that is lying around, including large numbers of handbills that are being distributed by a countless number of supporters of the contestants.
The first signal of the elections was like the whip crackers signaling the arrival of the Perahera- the posters started appearing. They were mainly on walls of houses which are by the roadside. Parapet walls, other facades, lamp posts, nothing was spared. There was only one thing missing, the preferential numbers.
One day very recently while driving home, I spotted a little girl struggling to remove the posters that were pasted on the private wall of her home. If one were to count she had removed over three to four posters that were pasted one on top of the other. To our surprise they were not of the same party, but of different parties! Oh well, and she goes, ‘why have they pasted them on our wall?’ Well you haven’t got the right to vote yet, so don’t bother, was the remark of a passerby.
Anyways, to a point the propaganda process is vital for the contestants, time will decide who the winners will be but the issue at hand is the amount of paper that is being used up for the posters. Also the environmental impact of these posters on the hill country or rather the country on the whole.
On an earlier occasion when the environmental conditions in Kandy Town were discussed, it was highlighted that paper and garbage were big time polluters of the City. Now the issue at hand is, where would all these posters and cutouts end up, when removed, on the given deadline.
That’s the time when all propaganda material is removed from the visible corners of the city. A beautiful city that is said to have survived time and tide and is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site is now covered with paper and paste. Not even one single surface is spared by the poster campaign that is being conducted to perfection.
For those pasting the posters, the best time of the day is after nightfall, with the least hindrance to the public. No harm done, in that I guess, nights are peaceful when most are in their homes sitting in front of the Television, there again news flashes and advertisements are constantly running giving notices about the upcoming election.
When the elections ‘saga’ comes to an end, some of the free cattle roaming the streets would have had most of the walls cleaned as they would be seen chewing the papers and posters instead of the grass. However, the matter of concern is the beautification process of the City, where several development projects are now on the cards, while some are already on course keeping in mind that Kandy is a city in which, most of the buildings are preserved as being of archaeological value and importance.
Sometimes by morning we see, these posters in the drains or by the roads without regard to the Party and the persons represented by the posters. Who are the offenders? Or another may question, is it an offence? As for the answers, all would say, it is all a matter of time, till the elections are over.
Why should we wait for certain officials or organizations or any person involved in environmental protection to come remove the posters? And a couple of days later for news items to be flashed saying large amounts of posters were removed.
However, there is a closely fought contest to secure the 25 seats in the Kandy Province. Well, with a record of 17 recognized political parties in the fray for the elections, there is propaganda material to match that is lying around, including large numbers of handbills that are being distributed by a countless number of supporters of the contestants.
