Floods in Sri Lanka: how to help

May 24, 2016

Over the last ten days Sri Lanka has been hit by severe flooding and subsequent landslides. According to theWorld Health Organisation 290,000 people have been affected across 22 districts in Sri Lanka, with 190,000 temporarily displaced, 109 missing and 92 confirmed dead. 4,000 homes have been damaged and 500 destroyed.

Among the worst affected areas was Kegalle in the Western Hill Country where two landslides, one affecting a tea estate community in Bulathkohupitiya, and another a number of villages in Aranayaka, left dozens dead and many more missing.

There was criticism over the Government’s response after flood warnings for the Kelani Riverwere sent out in Sinhala only despite the fact that many people (particularly but not exclusively those from the Hill-Country Tamil community) in the affected area do not speak the language.

How you can help

Flood relief efforts and volunteers are being co-ordinated within the country via this Facebook page. This website allows flood victims to identify their needs. Yamu.lk have created this list identifying groups and organisations that are collecting both money and resources for flood victims, including those taking donations from overseas. The online delivery company Takas have established a system whereby individuals from overseas can purchase supplies directly for flood victims.

SRI LANKA’S DISASTER MANAGEMENT CENTRE, A DISASTER ITSELF

24/05/2016

Sri Lanka’s Disaster Management Centre (DMC), which should be in the forefront of the current emergency response with floods and storms ravaging the country, is facing a crisis of its own.

Its “disaster emergency hotline 117 (as stated in the website)” doesn’t work. There is no answer, zero sound when one calls this number as the Sunday Times discovered this morning (Tuesday) placing a call at 9.45 am. The non-functioning phone was earlier reported on http://www.lankaenews.com/news/1336/en

Further disaster awaits you when you access the website: http://www.dmc.gov.lk/index_english.htm

The situation and warning reports are on icons/columns on the left side of the web. But these contain blank pages when clicking on it.

Here is the best part: The situation reports are under the page titled “OUR MISSION, VISION AND OBJECTIVES”.

There’s more disaster awaiting any crisis-hit citizen seeking assistance: Whose 5-minute video still runs on the home page? Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa opening the DMC’s new building complex when he was president!

When a family that had moved into their week-old, newly-built house in Colombo called the DMC (after trying many numbers) for help as their house was filled with 3 feet of water, pat came the reply: “There are more affected people outside Colombo. They need our assistance more than you”.

The couple, trapped inside their home by 3 feet-high water, had to call a friend who came in a water jet-scooter and ferried them and their 6-month-old baby to safety. While this experience clearly shows that the DMC neither has the resources, experience nor ability to handle a crisis situation of this magnitude, the minister-in-charge, Anura Priyadharshana Yapa and his Ministry Secretary should take responsibility for this watery-state of affairs. (Feizal)

Sunday Times

Some Lessons Beyond Floods & Landslips

By Mahesh Senanayake –May 24, 2016

Mahesh Senanayake

The island wide catastrophic situation that we are experiencing nowadays teaches us some timely lessons or reminds us of lessons that we have already learnt and have forgotten. These lessons range from the enshrined norms of humanity to reviewing of our policies, rules and regulations that govern construction of houses, large scale commercial buildings and town planning.

The first lesson that it teaches us is the “kindness and unity” that are overwhelmingly seen among majority of the Sri Lankans amidst some politically driven complaints or suspicion of division among the people. Irrespective of cast, religion, race or language, we have got together as one nation to share the grief of our affected fellow countrymen thus defying the observations of a few minds with vested interest who are waiting to see a divided country. A packet of rice prepared by a Sinhalese fills the hungry tummy of a Muslim or a Tamil and vice versa. The dry rations, clothes, medicine or any other relief materials donated do not carry the stamp of chauvinism. The three forces or the police did not ask for religion or the cast in helping the affected people. Hence we as one nation have once again taught those who are waiting to see the topics of federalism, division or separation to emerge to foster their political ideologies a lesson that had already been taught to them in previous occasions such as Tsunami in 2004 or at the end of the 30 year old war. The lesson is that we are still a united country and we do not believe partition among the people.

A proper system to manage the relief items given by the people would have been improved in our disaster management process for which we gave a serious thought in 2004 aftermath the Tsunami.

There were several occasions that the announcements were made to the effect that cooked food items were not further required and in some occasions that enough food items were not delivered to the interior of the affected areas. This is mainly due to many authorities, organizations, societies and groups of people working in isolation to help the victims. The lesson here is that there should be proper coordination among the relevant authorities and the general public.

Another barrier in the rescue operations has been the public who visit the sites of landslips and floods to witness nature’s rampage which has hindered the progress of the operations. Let us determine not to indulge in such sightseeing soon after a catastrophe. This demands us to rethink whether it is safe and fair to move in large groups to affected areas thus hampering the rescue operations.

Today national newspapers revealed that there had been few incidents where underworld gangs and drug addicts had taken charge of the relief items and hoodwinked the unsuspecting public who eagerly wanted to help the affected. The punishment meted out to such thieves should be couple of times higher than in a normal case of robbery both as per the law of the land and law of the nature.

The government has decided to grant tax concessions for relief items as per an announcement made by the Finance Minister Ravi karunanayake. However the authorities should be extra vigilant as we have some unscrupulous merchants who are good at making use of the opportunity by forging documents to show that items imported are for relief aid and sell the these goods in the ordinary market. We need the vigilance of the customs, ministry of finance and ministry of trade and commerce to intervene.

Read More

JR’s Geoffrey Bawa and Gota’s Muditha!

May 24, 2016

Architect Muditha Jayakody has become a controversial figure due to his connections with the Rajapaksa family. The FCID is now investigating to find out how he had abused his profession to engage in laundering black money of the Rajapaksas.

Muditha designed Basil Rajapaksa’s house and 16-acre property at Malwana, Browns Hill palace in Matara, D.A. Rajapaksa Foundation owned party office in Gampaha, but all free of charge. Instead, the Rajapaksas gave many government projects to him without calling for tenders.

When the FCID questioned about his professional experience, Jayakody said in a conceited manner that even the building in which the FCID is located was designed by him. When pointed out that the building was nearly 100 years old, he said he had carried out the refurbishments. When asked if he got it by tender, he gave another conceited answer – that in 1978, J.R. Jayewardene gave the task of designing the parliamentary complex to Geoffrey Bawa without calling for tenders. In the same manner, he received the contract from Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Jayakody said. When the FCID inquired from ex-Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal later, he said he was asked by Gotahbya to to give the contract to Jayakody’s firm without calling for tenders.

In addition, Gotabhaya had given the projects to Jayakody without calling for any tender, to build the Army headquarters (Pentagon) at Pelawatte, Battaramulla and the military school at Slave Island. He had received both these projects as underhand deals by telling lies to the Army. He has told the Army that he had 20 architects and 30 engineers working full-time under him. After the new government took office, a cabinet subcommittee conducted investigations and based upon its findings, cancelled the contract. However, it remains a question as to why the defence ministry delaying making the entire contract invalid.

The JVP is to raise this in Parliament and request the report recommending the cancelation of the agreement between Muditha Jayakody associates and the Army to be tabled in house.

They are also contemplating to move a vote of no confidence on Ruwan Wijewardena for this cover up.

Given below is a list of architectural creations by Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa that remain in all their glory even today:

1940s
•   Lunuganga, Bentota (1948–1998)
1950s
•   St. Thomas' Preparatory School, Colombo (1957–1964)
•   Carmen Gunasekera House, Colombo (1958)
•   Kanangara House, Colombo (1959)
•   Club House, Ratnapura (1959)
•   Deraniyagala House, Colombo (1959)
•   Wimal Fernando House, Colombo (1959)
•   Jayawardena house, Colombo (1959–1960)
•   Ekala Industrial Estate, Ja ela (1959–1960)
•   A.S.H. De Silva House, Galle (1959–1960)
•   Manager's Bungalow, Maskeliya (1959–1960)
•   Turin Koralage House, Elpitiya (1959-1960)
•   Wijewardene House, Colombo (1959–1964)
1960s
•   Osmund and Ena de Silva House, Colombo (1960–62)
•   Bishop's College, Colombo (1960–1963)
•   33rd Lane, Colombo (1960–1998)
•   Chapel for the Good Shepherd Convent, Bandarawela (1961–1962)
•   House for Dr. Bartholomeusz, Colombo (1961–1963)
•   House for Chris and Carmel Raffel, Colombo (1962–1964)
•   Pim and Pam Fernando House, Colombo (1963)
•   St. Bridget's Montessori School, Colombo (1963–1964)
•   Polontalawa Estate Bungalow, Polontalawa (1963–1965)
•   Hilton Hotel, Colombo, Colombo (1965)
•   Madurai Boys' Town, Madurai, India (1965–1967)
•   Yahapath Endera Farm School, Hanwella (1965–1971)
•   Coral Gardens Hotel additions and renovations, Hikkaduwa (1966)
•   Steel Corporation Offices, Oruwela (1966–1969)
•   Bentota Beach Hotel, Bentota (1967–1969)
•   Pieter Keuneman House, Colombo (1967–1969)
•   Serendib Hotel, Bentota (1967–1970)
•   Yala Beach Hotel, Yala (1968)
•   Mahahalpe Farm, Kandy (1969)
•   Ceylon Pavilion 1970 World Fair, Osaka, Japan (1969–1970)
1970s
•   Pallakele Industrial Estate, Pallekele (1970–1971)
•   P.C. de Saram Terrace Houses, Colombo (1970–1973)
•   Science Block, Nugegoda (1971)
•   Madurai Club, Madurai, India (1971–1974) - it has been renamed as Heritage Madurai.
•   Hotel Connamara Remodelling, Chennai, India (1971–1976)
•   Club Mediterranee, Nilaveli (1972)
•   Stanley de Saram House, Colombo (1972)
•   Batujimbar Pavilions, Sanur, Indonesia (1972–1975)
•   Peter White House, Pereybere, Mauritius (1973–1974)
•   Neptune Hotel, Beruwala (1973–1976)
•   Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Colombo (1974–1976)
•   Hotel at Pondicherry, Puducherry, India (1975)
•   Seema Malaka, Colombo (1976–1978)
•   State Mortgage Bank, Colombo (1976–1978)
•   Candoline Hotel, Goa, India (1977)
•   Panama Hotel, Panama (1977)
•   Martenstyn House, Colombo (1977–1979)
•   Meena Muttiah Hospital for the Kumarni of Chettinad, Chennai, India (1978)
•   House for Lidia Gunasekera, Bentota (1978–1980)
•   Institute for Integral Education, Piliyandala (1978–1981)
•   Club Villa Hotel, Bentota (1979)
•   Samy House, Dahshur, Egypt (1979)
•   Triton Hotel, Ahungalla (1979–1981)
•   Sri Lankan Parliament Building, Kotte (1979–1982)
    
1980s
•   University of Ruhuna, Matara (1980–1988)
•   Galadari Hotel, Islamabad, Pakistan (1984)
•   Sunetra Bandaranaike House, Horagolla (1984–1986)
•   Offices for Banque Indosuez, Colombo (1985)
•   Institute of Engineering Technology, Katunayake (1985)
•   Fitzherbert House, Tangalle (1985–1986)
•   De Soysa House, Colombo (1985–1991)
•   Bashir Currimjee House, Port Louis, Mauritius (1986–1994)
•   Hyatt Hotel, Sanur, Sanur, Indonesia (1989)
•   Larry Gordon House, Wakaya, Fiji (1989)
•   Singapore Cloud Centre, Singapore, Singapore (1989)
1990s
•   Banyan Tree Hotel, Tanjung Pinang, Indonesia (1991)
•   Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla (1991–1994)
•   Jayakody House, Colombo, Colombo (1991–1996)
•   Sarabhai House, Ahmedabad, India (1992)
•   Modi House, Delhi, India (1992)
•   Jayakody House, Bentota, Bentota (1993)
•   Poddar House, Bangalore, India (1994)
•   Kani Lanka Resort & Spa, Kalutara (1994–1996)
•   Lighthouse Hotel, Galle (1995–1997)
•   Blue Water Hotel, Colombo (1996–1998)
•   Official Residence of the President, Kotte (1997-)
•   Pradeep Jayewardene House, Mirissa (1997–1998)
•   Spencer House, Colombo (1998)
•   Jacobsen House, Tangalle (?)
Unbuilt
•   U.N. Headquarters, Malé, Malé, Maldives (1985)

Awards and fellowships
•   Pan Pacific Citation, Hawaii Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (1967)
•   President, Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (1969)
•   Inaugural Gold Medal at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (1982)
•   Heritage Award of Recognition, for “Outstanding Architectural Design in the Tradition of Local Vernacular Architecture”, for the new Parliamentary Complex at Sri Jayewardenepura, Kotte from the Pacific Area Travel Association. (1983)
•   Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
•   Elected Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (1983)
•   Conferred title of Vidya Jothi (Light of Science) in the Inaugural Honours List of the President of Sri Lanka (1985)
•   Teaching Fellowship at the Aga Khan Programme for Architecture, at MIT, Boston, USA (1986)
•   Conferred title Deshamanya (Pride of the Nation) in the Honours List of the President Sri Lanka (1993)
•   The Grate Master's Award 1996 incorporating South Asian Architecture Award (1996)
•   The Architect of the Year Award, India (1996)
•   Asian Innovations Award, Bronze Award – Architecture, Far Eastern Economic Review (1998)
•   The Chairman's Award of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in recognition of a lifetime's achievement in and contribution to the field of architecture (2001)
Awarded Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), University of Ruhuna (14 September 2002)

Geoffrey Bawa was invited by the then president J.R. Jayewardene to design Sri Lanka’s parliamentary complex as a mark of honour to a man who has given so much to the country and the world. He did that with the unanimous consent of his cabinet. Renowned architects question Jayakody as to on what basis he was comparing himself to that great man Geoffrey Bawa.

Gotabhaya and Basil sent Muditha to Los Angeles twice to give advice for the construction of their two houses there. Renowned architects say what Jayakody has been doing all this while was to compare himself to the legendary Geoffrey Bawa, blatantly violate professional ethics, lie and help the Rajapaksa to launder their black money.

Malwana land owned by Muditha Jayakody
FCID investigations have revealed that Jayakody has taken ownership of the 16-acre land and property at Malwana by deed of transfer since last year. He has levied a six per cent charge from the defence ministry for designing the ‘Pentagon’ being built at a cost of Rs. 50 billion. Also, a similar amount of money had been charged for the Rajapaksa Stadium in Diyagama, Homagama. Now in an irreversible fix for having laundered Rajapaksas’ black money, Jayakody is upto a new antic now – that is to save his face by becoming a witness of the state.

It is further revealed that FCID is going to summon Gotabaya Rajapaksha in this regard very soon. Simultaneously a complain to corruption and bribery commission will be lodged by the concerned parties.

Racketeers of ‘nefarious decade ‘ seeking to perpetuate their plunders under good governance government !

– public intently watching SLT chairman and minister

(Lanka-e-News -24.May.2016, 8.00PM)   A  financial perfidy committed within the Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Co. during the ‘nefarious decade ‘ of Medamulana Rajapakses , is instead of being exposed and remedied under the present government of good governance being further encouraged, and is to be perpetuated, based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division within the SLT.

If this racket  is to be explained in plain language sans technicalities to the people it is as follows :

When the communication technology was entering the 4 G era from 3 G era , the SLT took  action to reach  the 4 G cable level  identified as cable- less  4G LTE (Long term evolution 4 G) by obtaining the  necessary gear from  ZTE Company . The relevant transaction took place during the nefarious decade. Because the overriding motive was to collect illicit commissions at the expense of national interests , what were purchased were inferior quality materials under the last regime. The RRU  communication equipment  , that is the Remote Radio Units were of  inferior quality and consequently ,they began giving trouble unendingly.

What did the SLT officers involved in this racket do to overcome this ? They handed over the RRU equipments to the crooks to refurbish it. If these were  refurbished  within the SLT warehouse , the cat would have been  out of the bag . Hence these were kept in the ZTE warehouses  and refurbished, and mind you it was the SLT funds  that were spent to provide these warehouse facilities . The most deplorable and detestable part of this most despicable racket is ,  in addition to draining away  public funds on purchasing low quality goods , the SLT even went as far as to provide the facilities to  ZTE at  public expense to do the repairs on them.

Though it may seem  incredible ,  it is true that  this unconscionable plunder of state funds was not just in thousands but in many millions !!  

The SLT out of its funds took for ZTE a warehouse 10,000 square feet in extent located at 188/1 , at Ambagaha junction , Wellampitiya .The agreement No. is L 308/2015 relating to this. The monthly payment is Rs. 85 /- per square foot on behalf of ZTE. That means the total monthly payment made by SLT is Rs, 850,000/-. Along with other payments , about Rs. One million is paid by SLT monthly . All for what  purpose  ?

It was all for purchasing inferior quality goods by the SLT itself and effecting repairs on them – lest we forget ,these are public funds that are drained away ! What a unique method to make illicit gains at the expense of public funds !. Truly speaking the repairs ought to be done by ZTE Co. but such a clause had not been incorporated in the agreement by these racketeers and fraudsters of the nefarious decade whose gaze had been fixed only on illicit commissions and under hand gains.

Now ,the SLT in order to cover  up this whole scam and to safeguard ZTE is paying Rs. I million monthly out of its funds which repair can be carried out in its own warehouse (there is plenty of space in its warehouse!)

The worst part ? this agreement is terminating in May , but hole and corner methods are being resorted to  with a view to  extend this agreement for a further year .In this connection , the ZTE Co .is indulging the SLT officials beyond anything they are accustomed to in order to get this unscrupulous contract extended -ZTE is arranging foreign tours and other extraordinary  pleasure providing activities to them.

Of course this was a treacherous  racket that originated under a traitorous nefarious decade , but that does not mean the present much hyped good governance government should also perpetuate that fraud without halting it , and seek to fatten at public expense . At least it is its duty to minimize the losses.

According to reports of Lanka e news inside information division at the SLT , as a sequel to the exposures (and/or  for other reasons) made by Lanka e news in the past against the chairman of the SLT ,the latter has stated he is prepared to change from the wrong track he was speeding on  ,to the right track .

The chairman had told his friends that he did  commit mistakes , and even his president the elder brother was thereby embarrassed . He is therefore going to change his lifestyle entirely ,  and embark on a  new virtuous journey.  Incidentally, the minister of SLT too issuing  a statement asked for pardon from the people for the foul words that slipped  from his mouth in parliament.

In other words , the SLT chairman and the minister have expressed that they  have a necessity and a desire to rectify their faults. If that is the case , their  words  shall be translated into action without swallowing  those words like food. They must take concerted and concrete action against perpetuating  the past corruption and fattening on them selfishly , hypocritically and unscrupulously , as the people are intently keeping a watch over their actions .

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by     (2016-05-24 14:40:54)

Sri Lanka: Eastern CM Barked at a Senior Naval Officer ! ( Must Watch Video)

( May 26, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A Shocking video  has revealed the art of barking at a senior naval officer of the Sri Lanka Navy. The Chief Minister Ahamed Nazeer Zainulabdeen shouted at the officer while calling him as an ” Idiot”. The incident occurred while attending a ceremony in which the Governor of the Province, who once served as the Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka, and the US Ambassador in Sri Lanka also were part of.

Ahamed Nazeer Zainulabdeen is the current Chief Minister of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. He is the member of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and succeeded M. N. Abdul Majeed as the Chief Minister on 6 February 2015.

Here is the video;

‘If I’m remanded, my wife, daughter will die of broken hearts’

May 24, 2016

“If I am remanded, my wife and daughter will die of broken hearts. If you want to see that happen, remand me,” retired senior DIG Anura Senanayake said soon after he was arrested by the CID yesterday (23). CID officials asked him in return, “So, sir. Thajudeen’s mother and father wouldn’t have had any hearts?” without answering that, a weeping Senanayake said, “I have shouldered a sorry fate.” 

As the CID read out the charges against him during arrest, he alleged the entire investigation was biased. What Senanayake has been doing at the CID, where he was summoned to give a statement, was to lecture CID officials on how to carry out investigations.

 

“What I state here can be verified by going through the entries by my bodyguards,” he said, but upon investigation, it was found that his chief bodyguard had gone on leave days before the incident. That officer has admitted to the CID that he had entered the notes several weeks later. Also, the CID found personal entries about the whole episode by the constable who was abused in filth by Senanayake for having found ruggerite Thajudeen’s wallet, and several other constables.

 

Senanayake was previously accused by the CID of concealing evidence and aiding and abetting to commit murder, but upon summarizing evidence, it was found that murder charges too, could be filed as per clause 294 of the penal code. Accordingly, the CID’s B report submitted to court yesterday had the murder charge too.

 

Senanayake is due to be produced before courts on May 26, when the Colombo magistrate’s courtroom no. 03 takes up the case into the Thajudeen murder.

Solid waste disposal : Sanitary landfill the best option

By Prof. O. A. Ileperuma-May 24, 2016, 8:00 pm 

The Colombo city generates around 1200 tons of garbage daily requiring disposal by the municipal council. The standard practice adopted for disposing solid waste is the open dumping method, where garbage is dumped in low-lying marshlands such as those in Orugodawatte, Wanathamulla and Kolonnawa. Earlier Wanthamulla was a favourite dumping ground, but now it is the site of a housing complex built on the reclaimed land from the earlier dumping site. There is tremendous pressure against disposing garbage in their localities from the people living close to these open dumping sites at Orugodawatte and Kolonnawa. Rapid urbanisation, population growth and increase in non-biodegradable waste, comprising plastics and polythenes, are responsible for this trend. People living close to Kolonnawa garbage have already sought relief from the Supreme Court to prohibit the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) from dumping garbage in their area.

Open dumping of garbage is not at all satisfactory for dumping municipality garbage for the following reasons.

Polythene content of garbage is increasing and the area required for dumping also increases

Promotes breeding grounds for mosquitoes, rats, flies and various other microorganisms

Aesthetically repelling mountains of garbage with unbearable smell has indirect effects on the social behaviour of people. People become agitated and irritable and may even develop violent behaviour.

During the dry season, fires created accidentally or deliberately produce massive fires which are difficult to distinguish. Since the fires spread through the mountain of garbage, extinguishing the fire at one point does not solve the problem.

Since there is no separation of garbage, toxic elements such as cadmium which leach out from batteries end up in their leachate contaminating water bodies. The leachate is also rich in various pathogenic bacteria and viruses causing illnesses to people.

During the hot summer months when there are fires in the open dumps, a lot of people, particularly children, get sick and admitted to hospitals for treatment. Major air pollutants generated during these fires are: fine particles (PM10), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. Out of these fine particles are perhaps the most toxic pollutants producing various respiratory problems such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and long term health problems like lung cancer and emphysema. In addition, these dumps provide ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes resulting in dengue fever, typhoid and various other vector borne diseases.

Blocking of low lying marshland is detrimental to the proper control of rainwater discharge. Low lying wetlands also provide scenic areas for recreation and provide sanctuary to various migratory birds. They also serve to preserve the rich biodiversity with mangroves, fish and birds characteristic of these areas.

Sanitary landfills- A healthier option?

Most developed countries dispose their solid waste in sanitary landfills. These are usually waste lands such as abandoned mines, rock quarries and located away from populated areas and ecologically important sites. They have an impervious clay layer to reduce water seepage. The area varies, but at least of the size of 3-4 soccer grounds. The bottom is dug up, flattened and sometimes lined with heavy duty polythene and a thick rubber mat to prevent seepage of the leachate. Garbage brought by trucks is dumped and compressed after placing a thin layer of soil using a bulldozer. The advantages are that there is no smell and does not breed any pathogens. It is called a sanitary landfill because of its sanitary condition compared to an open landfill. The leachate which is the liquid flowing out of a sanitary landfill is subjected to disinfection to kill all bacteria and viruses and monitored for other water quality parameters such as heavy metals, suspended solids etc. before it is discharged to waterways.

Nearly 20 years ago, the Government saw the need to tackle the ever increasing solid waste in the Colombo city. Government sought the support of the World Bank, which undertook a feasibility study for constructing a sanitary landfill for the entire Western Province. They identified a land at Alupotha close to Hanwella, located between two hillocks and having a clayey soil with no ecologically sensitive areas in the near vicinity and sparsely populated. The proposal was to dispose garbage generated from all municipalities from Negombo down to Panadaura including Colombo city. World Bank was willing to provide full funding for this proposal. Unfortunately, this programme never got off the ground due to lack of a commitment from a strong political leadership. Environmental NGO’s are quick to capitalize on issues of this nature to organise protests and incite villagers into protests to satisfy their own self interests. They can show what they have done to their foreign masters and get more funding. In the above case, these NGO’s not only got a few villagers , mostly illegal squatters in these lands, to protest but also local politicians to protest with the slogan "We do not want Colombo garbage". In this instance tenders were called and there were a lot of discussions held for eight long years from 1991-1999 but the project was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Politicians in Sri Lanka act only in the interest of safeguarding their vote bank and not on the national needs. They simply do not have the courage nor the leadership to take decisions which will benefit the majority. They are surrounded by their cronies as advisors, who will act as stonewalls between the President or the minister concerned and independent professionals, to prevent the implementation of any worthwhile proposals of national significance. This was the reason why this excellent proposal was doomed. The World Bank merely folded up their funds and probably funded a similar project in some other country.

The silver lining on this problem is the construction of a small scale sanitary landfill at Kirindiwela to dispose garbage from the Dompe Pradeshiya Sabha. This was built with support from the Korean Government at a cost of US$ 6 million and able to accept around 90 tons of garbage per day. The expected lifetime of the landfill is around 25 years, but could last longer since this Pradeshiya Sabha produces only around 10-15 tons of garbage a day. The leachate from the this landfill is collected in a storage tank where it is treated before disposal to the environment. This is a positive step, but a much larger sanitary landfill is required for disposing garbage from the entire Western Province. Those who are opposed to disposing garbage at landfills should visit this landfill and convince themselves of the ideal option to dispose municipality garbage.

Colombo garbage to Puttalam?

Now there is a proposal to dump garbage from Colombo in abandoned limestone quarries at Aruwakkalu located north of Puttalam. It is here that limestone is quarried for the manufacture of cement at the Holcim cement factory at Puttalam. While there are some objections based on biodiversity and archaeological importance, the major reason against this option is the high cost involved in transporting garbage over a distance of around 150 km by train. Alupotha, on the other hand, is located in close proximity to the Kelani valley railway line and located only about 40 km by train. Garbage can be transported in open freight cars from Kolonanawa to Alupotha in a more economical manner. Again, this entails collection of garbage from the entire western province and eases problems local government bodies face in finding suitable locations to dispose their garbage, and avoids conflicts with people who are angry about dumping garbage in their own backyards. Our megapolis minister should seriously consider this option of a centralised solution in the form of a sanitary landfill to solve the problem of garbage disposal in the entire Western Province.

Garbage as a resource

Arthur C Clarke once said "Garbage is only raw material which people are stupid not to use". Most developed countries have a scientific approach to managing their solid waste. Producing energy from waste is an attractive option. There are two basic approaches: incineration and bio-gas generation. In countries like Japan, non-biodegradable and burnable waste are sorted out and incinerated. The resultant energy can be used to turn turbines and produce electricity. In tropical countries like ours, garbage is more than 75% organic and also it is too wet to burn directly. This leads to some problems in incineration. However, such wastes can be conveniently used in bio-gas generation. The resulting bio-gas can be used in power plants to produce electricity. In addition, electronic waste dumped in landfills represent wastage of several important metals such as cadmium, gold, silver, mercury and lead going down the drain. With appropriate technology, these can be recovered and there are established methods to extract such metals. Otherwise, these toxic metals may find their way into waterways and cause heavy metal pollution detrimental to our health. Similarly, plastics can be recycled to produce other products such as water pots, garden furniture and plastic containers. Water bottles we throw away after use can be directly recycled to produce new pet bottles. Other metals such as iron, aluminium and tin too can be recycled.

Conclusion

We should have an entirely new way of thinking on the disposal of garbage. It should not be considered as a nuisance, but a resource by itself. Many people can find gainful employment in a new industry which uses electronic wastes to extract expensive metals like gold and other metals. There is definitely a lot of science involved here to make this a profitable venture. The development of the Western Province as a megapolis will definitely benefit from a modern system to dispose its garbage, and this will help to attract investors. There is also a need for disposing special kinds of wastes such as toxic chemicals and separate specialised sanitary landfills should be constructed to dispose such types of garbage.

Minister of home affairs Abeywardena pulls the wool over eyes of good governance government !

-Carries Pelpita from latrine cesspit to ministry cockpit !!

(Lanka-e-News -24.May.2016, 9.00PM)    Minister of home affairs Vajira Abeywardena has pulled the wool of over the eyes of  good governance government by appointing Anusha Pelpita  ,an accomplished  rogue of the Rajapakse Blue Brigand  of the ‘nefarious decade ‘as the additional secretary to his ministry.

It is this Pelpita  who is named as the second accused in the biggest financial fraud amounting to Rs. 600 million dubbed as Sil redhi (cloth)  fraud. Already a case is on going in the court and its next date of hearing is on the 25 th (tomorrow).

When Lanka e news inquired from the minister on why such a crook was selected for this responsible post , he gave  a most  perplexing answer :

''During the disaster struck situation , it s impossible  for me  to carry on the ministerial tasks . There is a staff shortage of about 30 in number. There is a shortage of three additional secretaries. No accountant. On Audit officer. No engineer. How can  the ministry be run under these circumstances? Anusha Pelpita was in the pool.  He is not interdicted. I studied his case , there are no charges against him. The charges are there against the former secretary of the president Lalith Weeratunge  . Anusha has only carried out  Weeratunge’s orders. This case  will be dismissed''  Abeywardena related. That is the latter  had even decided and concluded the case. 

Vajira Abeywardena who took oaths as the minister of home affairs on 4 th September 2015 had for 8 long months failed to fill the vacancies in his ministry. That  lapse is his and not ours. It only demonstrates how ‘efficiently’ (deficiently) he is running his ministry .

On the 21 st , Lanka e news published a report ‘ rogues have even taken advantage of the disaster’. It was revealed via  that report the crooks and the corrupt of the ‘ nefarious decade’ are taking advantage of the current disastrous situation and indulging in all the vile and corrupt activities when actions are being taken by the government  casting aside political differences in the larger interest of the abysmally suffering people of the country and to tide over the dire crisis. Vajira Abeywardena ‘s  action is a perfect illustration of such exploitation , and it is crystal clear he has cashed in on the situation well and truly. 

The minister’s claim that there are no charges against Anusha is a blatant and brazen lie .On the 12 th of February , the Colombo High court judge read out the charges  in court to Anusha and Lalith Weeratunge. The charges are hereunder.

 ‘The Attorney General had filed  indictments against the accused based on charges of committing financial irregularities during  the period between 30 th October 2014 and 05 th January 2015 ,  a sum of Rs. 600 million in cash belonging to the Sri Lanka Telecom Regulatory commission was transferred or to be  transferred to  account No. 7040016 maintained at the Taprobane branch of Bank of Ceylon  in the name of a Sil cloth program in violation of the SLT Commission Grants Act  No. 25 of 1991  ,  jointly with persons  in Colombo not known to the prosecution.’

In addition the AG has named 21 witnesses and included 15 articles  as ‘court productions’ against Pelpita and Weeratunge in this case.

Minister Abeywardena despite these glaring facts said ,’ I read his case , but there aren’t any charges.’ 

We can understand if Abeywardena had made these utterances after putting an infant’s soother in his mouth. We know Abeywardena completed only half of the term of the Diploma  at the Moratuwa NDT technology Institute, His passing the  law exam or when he passed is not known.

‘Anusha Pelpitiya was in the pool . He was not interdicted’  - Abeywardena 

Previously the ministry of public administration and ministry of home affairs were one. When the joint government separated the ministries scientifically , the ministry of public administration was allocated to Ranjith Madduma Bandara , and the home affairs ministry was entrusted to Abeywardena. When this was being done , Pelpita a government officer the  accused was not interdicted. This omission was  simply because of  the ‘ ‘deeds’ of minister Madduma Bandara , but that  does not give cause to Abeywardena to act this clownishly and stupidly  as he did, because  under the Establishment Act  second part (1999) 27 : 10 and 27 :11 relating to the disciplinary conduct of a government officer , it is clearly explained what action shall be taken against Pelpita. 

27:10 This section clearly states as follows :
If a case is filed in court  against a government officer based on a crime committed  or on charges of Bribery and corruption , the official in charge shall with immediate effect interdict that officer involved’

In the circumstances , Pelpita ought not be  in the government administrative pool , neither can he be  the additional secretary of Vajira Abeywardena . Instead he should be  at home under interdiction orders. If Yoshitha Rajapakse a Naval officer was  interdicted even before the case which is still not   filed  , surely Abeywardena must be suffering from mental decay or acute  dementia to appoint Pelpita as additional secretary even while  a case is already  being heard against him in court.

‘Anusha Pelpita has only carried out Lalith Weeratunge’s orders’ - Abeywardena

Abeywardena trying to white wash and defend Pelpita , the former has fallen from the frying pan to the fire . He had only betrayed his abysmal ignorance of the basic laws of the country despite being a minister. There is no law to excuse an officer or  exonerate him who acts on the illegal orders of a  superior officer .

When Pelpita was the chairman of the SLT regulatory commission , he was such  a low grade scoundrel who went out of the way and outside the law to carry out the politically motivated orders of Rajapakses .The case in point is , Pelpita banning the news websites in SL without any legal base. Because of the dastardly action of Pelpita in order to bootlick the Rajapakses , the entire country earned the disrepute internationally as  a country without media freedom .

To Ministers like  Vajira Abeywardena the wheeler dealer who knows nothing about good governance  what matters most is , getting together with racketeers like Pelpita and pulling   the wool over the eyes of the government of good governance . His aim and objective is to thereby alienate the people from the good governance government , and form a ‘deal putting through ‘ government . May we recall Lanka  e news reported earlier on , it was Vajira Abeywardena the notorious wheeler dealer  wizard who acted as the intermediary to put through the infamous ‘deal,’ that is, when  filing the case against   Pelpita and Weeratunge , they were not to be taken into custody. 

While those with brains are flushing out the excreta in the latrines , Vajira Abeywardena on the other hand prefers to take up the role of a latrine coolie . He is with his own hands carrying the excrement bearing the name Pelpita  and placing him in his  compound  . Not enough the insult he is inflicting on the government of good governance via  his latrine coolie activities, he is even going so  far as to  proudly and strongly defend Pelpita  ‘ See this excrement does not stink. It is fragrant,’  he argues.

The Prime Minister turned red at more than one place when a pro government of good governance media secretary was being appointed .Now the good governance community is anxiously and intently watching which part of his will turn red when a rogue of the Blue brigand is being appointed as the additional secretary of a ministry against whom there is even a case  pending in high court . 

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by     (2016-05-24 15:32:30)

Yahapalana Govt. Fabricates News Against Me – Udayanga

( May 24, 2016, Kiev, Sri Lanka Guardian) “The current government is trying to portray me as a wanted person who is hiding from Sri Lankan and Ukrainian authorities and hiding from justice by moving from one country to another. I wish to emphasise that I live in Ukraine and currently have started to study for a Ph.D. at a Defense university in this country,” Udayanga Weeratunga, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, said in a press release received alone with his photograph dated April 2016 ( Published above) , by the Sri Lanka Guardian.

The complete press release is below;

During the last few weeks, several ministers and the media who worked for the current regime have started to attack me again by making unacceptable false stories on me. The latest incident that they started to highlight, where I met former president. My visit to Thailand and Uganda has shown as a crime where an internationally wanted person who came out from hiding. First of all, I wish to inform you that as a person who didn’t commit any offence I can meet the former president at any location in the world without any obstacle. As you aware, I have no plan to meet the former president in Sri Lanka because I do not want to become a victim of the vicious vindictive campaign that goes after a selected group who are loyal to the former president. Due to my loyalty to the former president, I too have become a member of the group, which Yahapalana is after.

Prior to my appointment as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia during the last government, I was living in Ukraine but not in Sri Lanka. After I resign from the ambassador position, I returned back to Ukraine until today. The ‘Yahapalana’ government currently started a false propaganda campaign against me, stating that I supplied arms to the groups of Ukraine terrorists. This is a completely false accusation. How can a person who supplied arms to anti-Ukrainian rebels freely live in the capital city of Ukraine?

Once, the current regime has found that this fabricated lie was not accepted by the public, the new set of false stories are to be released against me. Another rumour that the current regime spread was about the death of Mr Noel Ranaweera who worked as a messenger at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Russia. They falsely accused me that I was responsible for the death of Mr Ranaweera. However, the Russian driver who was responsible for Noel’s death was prosecuted and being sentenced by the Russian courts. With the sentencing of the Russian driver who caused the death of Noel, the false murder accusation which current regime fabricated became null and void. Detail report about the court proceedings and about the sentenced was delivered to the Sri Lankan Foreign ministry.

Another rumour that they released was the using of the diplomatic passport after my tenure as the Ambassador. However, this fabricated story again became a useless lie once the Department of Immigration and Emigration made a news release to the media. In the news release, they clearly indicated the diplomatic passport that I was using as an ambassador was cancelled and on 06th of March 2015 issued normal passports for us. After this news release, the some of the leaders were furious and discussed this matter at a recent cabinet meeting.

The current government is trying to portray me as a wanted person who is hiding from Sri Lankan and Ukrainian authorities and hiding from justice by moving from one country to another. I wish to emphasise that I live in Ukraine and currently have started to study for a Ph.D. at a Defense university in this country. Further, I wish to let the public aware that I am organising the Sri Lankans living abroad against this vicious government. I have no any plan to come to Sri Lanka to become an easy prey of the current regime. I ensure that it is not going to be an easy task for this vicious vindictive person to hunt me down for crimes which I have not done.

Baur swindles cancer patients

May 24, 2016

Certain drugs prescribed for cancer patients are very costly. Some of them are priced at hundreds of thousands of rupees each, and the right to import a considerable number of those drugs is being monopolized by Baur Company. This company provides the drugs at various prices. The present government has been saying that it will end the drug monopoly by implementing the Senaka Bibile drug policy. But, that is yet to become a reality. Therefore, private companies are given the opportunity to swindle patients at will.

Applications were submitted by Baur company to the National Drug Regulatory Authority for the registration of the Russian-made vaccine trastuzumab. Thereafter, a professor at the Colombo south general hospital (Ragama Hospital) gave approval for the registration of the vaccine. Upon that approval, Baur company set its price. The government decided to buy a small quantity of the drug locally too, after which it came to light that Baur company was swindling the patients.

It transpired that the private company’s price was Rs. 23,000 higher than the actual price. Baur company has obtained an order preventing the government from buying this vaccine from other suppliers. A court case is pending in this matter.

Doctors appearing on behalf of Baur company

What is surprising here is that a group of doctors who should cure the patients are appearing on behalf of the company. They have formed a so-called oncologists association, which is not registered anywhere. It claims the vaccines bought locally by the government are not fit for use, and stresses that only the vaccine imported by the registered company are suitable. These doctors are mortgaging the lives of the cancer patients and appearing on behalf of the private company because of the money they are receiving from the company.

Palestinian PM dismisses Netanyahu's direct talks proposal 

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (R) and Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah (L) meet (AFP) 

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday dismissed an Israeli proposal for direct negotiations instead of a French multilateral peace initiative, calling it an attempt to "buy time".

Hamdallah made the comments as he met French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who has held talks in Israel and the Palestinian territories this week to push Paris's peace initiative.

"Time is short," Hamdallah said. "(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is trying to buy time... but this time he will not escape the international community."

Netanyahu has rejected the plan and called for direct negotiations.

Valls told Netanyahu when he met him on Monday that he would discuss the Israeli premier's counter-proposal with French President Francois Hollande, but he has insisted that Paris plans to stick with its approach.

The French initiative involves holding a meeting of foreign ministers from a range of countries on 3 June, but without the Israelis and Palestinians present.

An international conference would then be held in the autumn, with the Israelis and Palestinians in attendance. The goal is to eventually relaunch negotiations that would lead to a Palestinian state.

Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has welcomed the French plan, but Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed his opposition while saying he is willing to meet Abbas at any time.

On Monday, he told Valls that France should host a summit between the two men in Paris.

Palestinian leaders say years of negotiations with Israel have not ended its occupation, and instead they have pursued a strategy of diplomacy at international bodies.

'Friend of Israel'

Valls has sought to address Israeli concerns over the French initiative, saying it would not try to impose a solution and that negotiations between the two sides would ultimately resolve the conflict.

He has called himself a "friend of Israel" during his trip, and said Israeli security must be guaranteed.

But he has also criticised Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank, considered to be a major stumbling block to peace.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law and are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Those arguing for a new peace effort say the lack of any initiative leaves a vacuum that can be filled by hardliners on either side.

An upsurge in violence since October has killed 205 Palestinians and 28 Israelis. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, Israeli authorities say.

The unrest has steadily declined in recent weeks, but on Monday a Palestinian woman was shot dead at a checkpoint north of Jerusalem while trying to stab a border policeman, Israeli authorities said.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the recent unrest.