Oh what an achcharu! The people are being sent on a ride to oblivion!

The media follows their agenda, sans investigative journalism. Its against personalities and their misdeeds, and their defence, with little information of public interest or in the public interest. Due to the poor ability of the readership, to select the fluff from the factual, leads to myths and falsettos in our heads.

The politicians on both sides of the line, wine and dine together at the Embassy parties at night and when sober, play to the gallery, and present a lopsided view of the world. The public is confused from diametrically opposed viewpoints.

The reality is of course even more out of a horror movie, as their children suddenly find that their education is useless, and everyone is trying to go behind a politician to correct the mistake, by getting their unqualified offspring through the back door, at a great disservice to his position and the people who he will serve in his Govt. JOB!

The quality of public transport is getting worse each day despite the Govt. painting a rosy picture of the future of Light Rail, criss crossing Colombo at speed solving all these issues. That is of little consequence for the next 10 years.

The quality of public servants is worsening as they are getting later to work, citing traffic, inconveniencing the public further, and NO ONE to pull them up, as supervisors are powerless to reprimand political stooges.

The OPD is full, and the patient is sent to a private clinic for tests and channeling which has raised their charges by more than even the VAT of 15%, an unbearable burden on the poorest sections who now cannot even afford the tests.

The price of food has risen, it is blamed on the weather, but the VAT has hit the small trader also and he is trying to increase his prices. Another belt tightening.

The price of mobile usage is another relevant and expensive cost increase that has added to the people’s woes.

The price of other consumables have also risen due to VAT increases and so all in all, the circumstances of improving one’s lifestyle, are not clear. It is now ONLY incumbent on the Govt. to take the bull by the horns, understand the problem faced by the people, address the misconceptions created and be brave enough to admit to failures and set procedures in place to prevent further delays in decision making.  

COMING FROM SB – Should I take it with a pinch of salt?

When a sensible idea comes from someone known to have made all sorts of nonsensical remarks in the past, one does not always take note.

I will draw you attention to this link which in essence says that “we must change our mentality to go forward” DURRRRRRRRRR

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/we-have-lost-billions-of-rupees-because-of-basil-and-sajith-sb/

Of course that has been the whole reason for my blog, suggestions to improve the lives of our citizens. I have labored and labored, hoping someone with some kind of sense would just take them all and tick them as being solved. We will be truly paradise if that is done.

There is simply NO POINT in blaming any particular individual, all POLITICIANS in Sri Lanka MUST take collective responsibility for their actions, otherwise they should not be elected! Lets face it Parliament is a club of 225 people enjoying unjustifiable level of benefits, and now each MP is NOT only been given a vehicle to travel at STATE EXPENSE, he is given TWO DRIVERS, when previously they had only one!

So if the subject of SBs ire is Samurdhi, then it should be scrapped, as 90% of those who receive Samurdhi are NOT deserving, and 90% of those who MUST be on Samurdhi are NOT. So it is a system of entitlement and not of welfare for the needy, which it was set up to be in the first place.

These sorts of entitlements mean that if you are on Samurdhi, you child automatically wants to be ALSO on Samurdhi, as a RIGHT when he or she grows up, and now we have families and generations on Samurdhi.

Welfare was set up, so that needy people are assisted by the state, so they can get on their feet, and once independent weaned OFF this! Politicians DON’T want them weaned off, as they want them to feel beholden to them. The needs assessment is NOT done properly, and with 14,000 GNs (Grama Niladari) in Sri Lanka, they can or should be able to inform the Samurdhi authority of who should or should NOT be on welfare. I have discovered that many of the needy, NOT being part of the GN list, as they don’t have an abode, (the most needy) don’t even get on the radar of people needing assistance of the State.

With a bureaucracy of 1.5M, Govt. servants, we are still unable to help the needy, and have poverty alleviation programs that raise people from their unfortunate circumstance.

Everything is just red tape paperwork, form filling, procedures, meetings, and lodging complaints. When asked why problems are NOT solved, the usual answer is that the tools are NOT in place.

WHAT IS THIS CHANGE OF MENTALITY THAT WE NEED?

1                   Government Servants must realize they are the servants of the PUBLIC

2                   Elected Officials must realize that they are merely the servants of the people who have pledged to improve the system of Government, by improving the productivity of Government!

3                   Their salaries are paid by the Citizens of Sri Lanka, not by some Minister, so their responsibility is SOLELY to the people they serve.

4                   The most important thing people must realize is that Government exists to ensure that the public amenities are administered in a fair manner, so as being managed for the common good. There is NO place for personal enrichment at the expense of the people.

5                   Anyone requiring assistance should be directed to the appropriate individual as there are 30 different types of officer in a Divisional Secretariat to take care of the needs of the public. (they include Women’s can Children’s Officer for women and children, Youth Officer for youth affairs, Disaster Relief Officer, to assist with notification and distribution of Disaster Relief, Officer responsible for the special needs of disabled people, etc.  30 different subjects!)

6                   Samurdhi Benefits should be reviewed on an as needed basis EVERY YEAR and revised. They SHOULD NOT be a permanent list, that does not change. Any family receiving Samurdhi Benefits for over a year MUST be interviewed and a plan of action instituted to wean them off these Benefits. Many have been receiving Samurdhi from the day the program has been established, at a huge cost to the state, and NO DETERMINED action has been undertaken to review the recipients and remove those NO LONGER ENTITLED!

The list is as long as a piece of string, and so I am only scratching the surface, as we certainly have NOT SHORTAGE of resources to benefit ALL who need real help. With a change of mentality, we can fairly distribute resources for the benefit of ALL those who require it, based on guidelines that are acted on without any favoritism. Much of which is currently wasted. 

THE SYSTEM OF OPEN PAPERS MUST BE MADE ILLEGAL - SL the only Country where traffic CCTV does not solve anything!

It is simply unacceptable in a Country that claims to have good Policing and Security measures to prevent terrorism and the like, to permit this OPEN PAPERS system, where a vehicle is not properly registered to the owner, or at least via a leasing company to the lessee who could then be identified as the person in whose charge the vehicle is operated.

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=146884

In Countries such as the UK, an automatic speeding ticket is generated along with a picture of the car, license and time and place and speed at which the vehicle was going, for the operator to pay the fine or face the consequences. It is up to the owner to determine who was at the wheel at the time, and ensure the fine was paid, otherwise the owners own License will have the requisite points added to it, and affect not only his insurance premium in future, but also his ability to drive if the number of points rises goes over a number.

When a news item such as that in the link above is highlighted, there is NO follow-up, to see how that issue can be resolved, as there is NO ONE willing to take responsibility. In this case it is up to the IGP to make representations to the Transport Minister that he is unable to prosecute errant motorists caught on CCTV, as ownership of the said vehicle cannot be established with any certainty.

The Minister should then take the necessary steps to resolve this matter, using his officers, and proceed with a change in either the law, or in the insistence by the DMV to record the operator of each vehicle at the time any vehicle is licensed annually as that is the most practical point at which the latest information can be updated as to owner/operator of the vehicle.

There is simply NO POINT wasting time putting up CCTVs if one cannot use them for the purposes intended. This goes to the heart of the Sri Lankan disease, namely nothing is done to achieve an objective, that will eventually benefit the people in Sri Lanka. Therein we have lost the plot, and the whole game of Government.

It appears to me that NO ONE is suggesting a prompt solution to this problem and the loser is the general public, whose interests, both Law Enforcement and Elected Officials have pledged to serve!!

I am concerned about this accusation of Western Culture creeping into an issue that has nothing to do with Culture, Sinhala or Western!

If reported accurately, it appears that the respected Ven. Bellanwila Wimalarathena Thero, has been misinformed or wrongly advised by Rogue Elephant owners as to what has been going on lately, as well as the obligations of the DWC in that respect.

The other issue is that these owners are influential people who have supplied elephants to temples, who are now caught in a legal embroglio due their having stolen elephants. The clergy clearly are under obligation, and are representing their views through them. A temple is dependent on their benefactors, and sometimes do not look at issues objectively in the best interest of society as a whole.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/110807/Action-against-jumbo-will-affect-Peraheras-Bellanvila-Wimalarathana-Thera

If he reads this he can put his doubts to rest and perhaps solve the shortage of Elephants, quite easily, and with a permanent solution.

Elephants stolen from the forests, and sold to people illegally is ONLY a clear violation of the Law, and it is up to the Law Enforcement Authorities, as to how and what should be done to the animals once, confiscated, as they clearly cannot be simply released into the wild. However returning them to those from whom they were taken is a clear violation of the spirit of the Law let alone the letter of the law.

Sure, the number of elephants in captivity has declined over the years, as existing elephants have died, and there have been no replacements. It is clearly against international law which we are signatories of to catch elephants in the wild and tame them for any purpose. This was the practice in the past, however we are now in 2016, when the way things are done, and animal welfare and international practices have changed. The burning of the Ivory, which was supposed to have been given to Temples under the previous administration is another example. Once the clergy realized that it was in the best interests of stopping poaching, there was NO MORE outcry for their release.

We are living in a time, when many species are threatened and tough measures that may sound too harsh HAVE to be adopted for the long term survival of the species. IT IS NOT SOME WESTERN conspiracy to deprive Temples of Elephants!

One could make the case that 150 Elephants die each year from Train accidents, and if we are careful we can reduce it to 100, and so save 50, and therefore catch 50 from the wild to plug the shortage! These kinds of arguments are like comparing apples and oranges.

All future pereharas will have fewer elephants unless of course the successful captive breeding of tame elephants is revised using the existing stock of tame elephants. This was apparently not continued at Pinnawela, during the Rajapakse administration, as the illegal trade with political backing was in place, and it was a more profitable activity to steal elephants and sell them, than breed them, otherwise the breeding program would have continued.

Places like Pinnawela could release captive elephants for pereheras, whilst keeping the female ones for breeding purposes, and in time, increase the stock of elephants available for pereharas. It is NOT the number of elephants that a temple has for these events that is important, it is the treatment of the elephants that are used. If all owners of tame elephants join in this project, it is possible that the captive breeding program can increase annual births even more, solving the shortage in a shorter period. 

Misguiding the President on their short term requirements forcing the President to bow (literally) to the demands of senior clergy, is not the most compassionate means to solve this relatively simple problem.

Let us hope that all temples, and elephant owners can get together and solve this amicably, with needed compromises, due to clashes of pereharas dates and not be slaves to numbers.

Elephants don’t have a vote that’s why they are fair GAME!

In the popularity stakes, politicians seek favor and admiration, from anyone who cares to give it. That is why they spend most of their time with people, and not on their job. They mistakenly believe their job is to be with the people. So they open this and that, give rousing speeches, and get upset, and mad sometimes when their name is NOT on a plaque!

In fact very few actually work hard at their job, and fewer still know what their job is. So when it comes to making decisions on behalf of the Country, they mistake that to be on behalf of their Constituency, and when I mean constituency, I mean their close political followers, hangers on, confidants and associates who have helped them.

So the conflict rises a few octaves, when you have the DG of Wildlife Conservation, whose job it is to enforce the Flora and Fauna Act, is actually on the side of animals, AND NOT HUMANS. Technically in his role, he sees humans as the problem NOT the solution! So you have a situation that is bound to cause tension, as often the Human Agenda, may differ from the animal agenda. The animal centric goal, becomes  less human friendly when emphasis of the need for wild animals to be protected and permitted to live with a certain degree of freedom, in a world that insists on a better deal for them with animal welfare laws, CITES.

Politically, it is difficult for leaders to have the courage of their convictions, to defend an animal and against their supporters! Even if they know they are wrong. A few years ago, the Jeep Driver Lobby ruled Yala National Park, and the animals suffered terribly. The DWLC was paralyzed. The Driver Lobby did not care, as they were not long term thinkers. They did not realize that it was in their best interest to ensure a balanced approach, so both can co-exist, they in their pursuit for short term gain of filling their pockets, had no issue about racing inside, road kill, using mobile phones to harass leopard, by having an animal surrounded by Jeeps within minutes of one being sighted.

The time has come in the long term interests NOT just of conservation, but also of preservation of a livable environment for the future generation, to strictly enforce the Law. To that end short term needs of personal individuals will have to be denied, for the greater good of society. The gatekeepers of the LAW must be protected by the LAW, and NO politician be permitted to override this law for mistaken loyalties to constituencies with self interest being paramount. 

If the precedent can be set by the President, then others are more likely to adhere to it.

What exactly is animal cruelty? Let us begin with the Elephants!

ANIMAL BILL OF RIGHTS

http://www.dailymirror.lk/110505/Constitution-Reform-Committee-recommends-humane-treatment-of-animals

There is a raging debate today on how we should deal with Elephants, and from that of other animals and the list is as long as a piece of string! We have had international examples of the famous Tiger Temple being closed down last week, ostensibly due to a public outcry about the welfare of the Tigers in chains, an attraction where people were allowed to touch and take tiger selfies!

HISTORY OF ELEPHANTS IN CAPTIVITY

So here in this essay let me look at the case of the Elephant, and let me say at the outset that I am not an elephant expert, and am merely an interested and caring bystander, who has never owned an elephant, and NOT likely to ever own one either. I may also add that way back yonder, in the era where bulldozers were NOT available, we used elephants to cut down trees for cultivation, and carry logs to be put on lorries for transport. My recollection then was that they would ONLY work from 7.30am to 12.30pm and from that time they get into the Deduru Oya, which was on the border of the Estate, and lie in the water for 3 hours, to be cleaned brushed and rubbed by the mahout, and then eat coconut and jack palms for the rest of the day. That was the life!

If I go back further, I presume these elephants were captured using other tame elephants at an elephant KRAAL, and then tamed using means that may today be found to be cruel. They may have been forced to SUBMIT, whatever the mental and physical restrictions were meant in that context.

These tame elephants that have now dwindled massively, as they are NO longer the workhorses of the past, used to be lent to Temples for Pereharas all around the Country, and some had to travel, walking for days to reach their destination. Today, they travel in large trucks, some two at a time!

THE CURRENT DEBATE

It is now considered cruel to capture elephants from the wild and tame them, no matter what means you use. There are further abandoned baby elephants, found in many places, and are brought up with the help of elephant sanctuaries with the intention of sending them back into the wild, and there is a raging debate if they cannot be tamed and used by wealthy people as PETS registered, and welfare checked up on annually before renewal of the license to keep the pet!

CITES the international treaty forbids capturing elephants from the wild for taming purposes, and I am not sure how abandoned baby elephants are treated under this convention.

It further states that breeding from captive elephants is the ONLY basis on which Elephants can be kept in future, for zoos as well as for personal pleasure! I believe our veterinarians at Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage are knowledgeable in breeding captive elephants, but have NOT done so, as there has been a veritable supply of wild Babies available to be transacted!

Clearly this is illegal, and all of them have been obtained illegally by their owners, who are now in the process of being prosecuted. The Minister of Sustainable Development said that he will shortly expose ALL the names of those who have bought stolen elephants, and within hours of this news item coming on the National Press website, it was withdrawn, presumably because the Paper was threatened or influence used to take that statement away, and NO DOUBT the intent will also be silenced with a santhosam.

CODICILS

Interestingly, there is a campaign worldwide for tourists not to ride on elephants as it is damaging to their backbone, no matter that kings of the past, used to ride elephants on Tiger Hunts to the Jungle! Added to this the Elephant Polo Tourist attraction is also supposed to be banned, as being cruel!

Circuses where Elephants were used are gradually sending them away to retirement homes, with many inhuman treatments exposed on the net, and happy endings where lonely elephants are sent to farms with other Elephants, shown relishing the company of their mates and having a fulfilling retirement to natural death.

Zoos are facing the wrath of activists. I believe the Elephant Circus at the Dehiwela Zoo, that I saw as a youngster, has been done away due to the new ethos. Of course there is a campaign to close zoos! Safari Parks may be next!

Then there is the Perehara that is facing the wrath of the Elephant activists saying that chained elephants, with lights on their backs and thousands of onlookers along the way are stressing them unfairly. The JURY is still out on this, and there are religious undertones, though I believe we MUST keep religion out of it. I was surprised then when the President said that due to the shortage of Tuskers in Sri Lanka, he will be getting Burmese Tusker Babies to be kept by temples for their festivals, as it was a traditional practice.

I can assure you that NO temple kept elephants. It was the wealthy landlords that kept them for their use, and lent them to Temples for processions! Now the majestic tuskers are dying out, and I believe there is ONLY one left of the casket carrying size, and is OLD!

THE FUTURE

We have kept out of this argument, the existing 150 elephants in captivity who with their owners, who have a relationship with them, having brought them up since childhood, believe that they are treating their charges well, and do not wish to hand them over. They are properly licensed and legitimate.

These elephants along with the Elephants at Pinnawela, and those bred under the NEW breeding program can be sold, and used for temples. Technically then as things stand now, it is ONLY these elephants that can be used in Peraharas. I presume NO elephant is NOW used in Sri Lanka for pulling logs.

In Thailand there are still many working Elephants, and with the advent of logging equipment, families of elephant owners there, who are poor professionals are left destitute for the lack of work. I am told it is a similar story in Myanmar, where elephants are still used for logging, and work. Presumably captured using cruel means and forced to submit to a work schedule, losing their freedom along the way.

Will the traditional perehara, using 100 elephants die away, along with the dwindling numbers? Should elephants be used in Peraharas? Should the Zoo in Dehiwela get rid of their elephants? What do we do with Pinnawela? How should we operate elephant transit homes adjoining National Parks?

These questions have now come onto the front burner. You should think about it, and depending on your definition of cruelty take your position. Add to this the new knowledge on elephant behavior, and traditional herds, and immense memory, where do we go from here?

Into this argument one needs to think of Human induced cruelty or happiness, and forest induced cruelty arising from fights, young males being thrown out of herds suffering injury in battle with others. The question of HUMAN ELEPHANT conflict in the wild, where HAKKA PATTAS and shootings are injuring elephants some extremely painfully, must be addressed as a separate topic from this discussion. Then the annual train kill of about 100 elephants. and the precautions taken to reduce this number enter the debate there.

The role of the VETs in the Department of Wildlife is another, in saving injured elephants from train accidents, and human elephant conflict, and transporting particularly difficult elephants to the Elephant Prison in Horowapothana for their own safety. They are incarcerated in 3,000 acres with many uncontrollable elephants, and is also a recipe for a disastrous outcome.

We must restrict our debate here only to the Sri Lankan context, so we don’t lose the wood from the trees and get into an IVORIAN conflict amongst us!  

The Prestige of the Temple should not be complicated with the rights of Wild Elephants

Wild Elephants

The knowledge we gain every day, and we are still learning, about the behavior and social habits of Elephants in the wild, have convinced us beyond reasonable doubt that it is plain WRONG to capture baby elephants in the wild FOR WHATEVER REASON. Orphans sans mothers, found must be rehabilitated!

I do not believe there should be a debate about that simple fact anymore, no matter who you represent.

Then we come to the question of the illegally captured elephants, perhaps 55 of them currently identified, that have had false licenses given, and transactions made with many wealthy buyers, knowingly or not (as to them being illegally captured) purchasing them for millions. As I write, Thilina Gamage, a Magistrate with a questionable reputation, is being questioned about the legitimacy of an elephant found in his possession, which he maintains was purchased on an arm’s length transaction, along with all the required paperwork.

Then we come to the decision of Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya of the Hulftsdorp  Court No 1, who permitted a RETURN of these very same illegally captured, and then found with false papers, and confiscated Elephants, back to their former owners, on the hilarious argument of the Lawyer representing the buyers, that they are needed for Pereharas around the Country!

Elephants are NOT chattels you play political football with! So a stay order of this decision was made, on the grounds that the order itself was plain wrong, but Mr Pilapitiya is sticking by it, as he seems to have the backing of Temples for his ruling, and he can hide under their cloaks, and obtain PIN for his actions.

In this melee, the Director of Wildlife Conservation, an elephant expert himself, unable to stomach these politically motivated actions, is threatening to resign, putting in jeopardy the whole wildlife conservation, and welfare and treatment of animals in Sri Lanka, which he has undertaken to protect. It is believed that ONLY he can stand up for the rights, over objections that don’t stand up in a Court of Law or in the Court of Morality. Only he has the knowledge, and his will cannot be traded for PIN money.

The President, fearing he may offend the Buddhist Clergy, is vacillating on this issue, and making even more absurd statements such as bringing down elephants from Myanmar to fill the shortage of them in Temples, a complete mockery of the principles being implemented. 

This has given more blessings to Gihan Pilapitiya’s actions, making Dr Sumith Pilapitiya the Director General of Wildlife Conservation, red-faced and ready to throw in the towel! 

I purposely avoided calling this the BATTLE OF THE PILAPITIYAS 

Magapolis/Megalopolis – Must be Environmentally Friendly for Success

We are in 2016. We are consciously building a NEW URBAN center in South Asia, that has NO rivals. Then we have to think ahead, into the realm of the UNKNOWN. This is a once in a lifetime chance, of creating a truly environmentally friendly, livable, and above all INCLUSIVE city for rich and poor alike.

THE USP would then be the most environmentally friendly/ sustainable / livable Urban Center in Asia! Our Urban Planners must have a vision at least that ambitious if they are to have a remote stab at success.

In order to do this, we MUST know where we have gone wrong with that concept to date. We have NOT planned our development like most modern cities do. Put simply, the poor worker who slaves in offices or homes in Colombo, does not have a bus after 6.30pm to take him home. That is simply UNACCEPTABLE.

What Megapolis if we have still not been able to turn our belching state buses into LNG ones, when most capital cities have already done so and has NOT even been suggested by our urban and transport planners.

http://www.ft.lk/article/546123/Environment-is-everything

Now it seems we are about to take the most expensive option, that of light rail, in preference to Rapid Transit, in our Megapolis plan. If we cannot improve our road system, then at least reduce pollution by using LNG for buses, have some BUS only roads that will force some people to use public transport, and ban the highly polluting three wheelers on congested roads, because their emissions per waiting hour are 10 times that of a new SUV with a catalytic converter.

As the link above refers to the most important, and all too easily forgotten fact of low cost housing, as over 50% of the people of Colombo are below the poverty line, and are ESSENTIAL for the growth of services in the Megapolis, and tracts of land MUST be set aside for low cost housing projects, similar to that of Singapore, amidst parkland and recreational space.

For households Rs50K-Rs100K, plan for the Welikada Prison site of 33 acres for a 75,000 population city with shops, and schools would be one served with a monorail into the Port City. This would make it one of the most livable places if developed correctly. Ideal for middle class office staff in the Private Sector. Could be sold on a zero down, Rs25,000 month 2 bed flats, to those being displaced out of the Kelani River Valley who can pay.

The problem is no one appears willing to stick their necks out and present a master plan that encompasses ECOFRIENDLY sustainable development.

The only projects in play are highly expensive, Rs50M+ condominium developments for the rich, be they expatriate residents, or locals, with nowhere for their Rs60K a month maids to live and commute from within half hour. I am sure NO urban planner has even realized that within 5 years, that would be the wage payable for an efficient made in these high rises, as it is impractical to have more than one daily in these apartments, but she would have to do the work of two!

By that time all our Middle East maids would be back and will only work for these wages anyway. Only when one can realistically do a model of what life would be like in 5 to 10 years, can you plan for it, to ensure that the residents actually do have a quality of life superior to that of today. Otherwise even the concept is bankrupt before you begin.

Environment – Conservation should not be restricted to mere platitudes

The President was unequivocal in his blame of Politicians and Government Servants, complicity in the current parlous state of our Environment. His speech in Matale to mark World Environment Day, did mention, the huge damage, sand mining and unauthorized construction, and the filling up of paddy has done to the environment.

I was however hoping for more, and some real policy proposals, to be enacted through Parliament on many areas:

I will list some that come to mind immediately and is not at all comprehensive:

1                   Complete Ban on Sand Mining along with a plan for sea sand mining at a significantly higher rate than now.

2                   Review of all river basins, and time limit to remove unauthorized and flood prone constructions over a stipulated period of say 5 years.

3                   Re assessment of landslide zones, a census of the populations, and their livelihood sources, and propose alternative relocation (optional to the individuals) in areas of better employment prospects.

4                   A complete mapping of Strict Natural Reserves, National Parks, National Forests, Canal and River Reservations, Coastal Conservation Zones, Buffer Zones, and Elephant Corridors.

5                   Once 4 above is done, these properties MUST be satellite demarcated, and Survey Department given the tools for enforcement, to prevent encroachment. Certain encroached lands to be returned to their former status.

6                    Consideration given to Biodiversity, and Scenic value, to add more land as Biodiversity Hot Spots to make them zones for locals to protect for their future, and local and foreign tourists to visit, providing both a source of livelihood for local villages as guides and protectors of habitat. There are innumerable places already due to rock quarrying, that springs and local water sources have dried up, which will happen more frequently unless prevention measures are taken NOW.

7                   Education of ALL students from PRESCHOOL about the value of, and love for the environment and ALL living things in them, especially in their locality. This is the surest way that people will take care of their surroundings, with pride and guard against abuse.

8                   An immediate action plan to reduce and separate waste of all sorts, to speed up recycling and minimize non-biodegradable pollutants. Why do we still use carcinogenic Styrofoam to pack food, when in wealthy countries they just use recycled paper!

    9        Ban the use of water bottles, and provide public dispensers of drinking water                for a fee.

On World Environment Day – a Policy that will immediately stop encroachment on Forest Reserves is needed

Politicians have either broken rules or permitted changes over the past 70 years that have irretrievably harmed the Environment in Sri Lanka. It is therefore their responsibility now to reverse some of this damage, and I will concentrate here on the use of land in Rural Areas.

NO POLITICIAN realizes that many of the homes in rural areas are hardly occupied, and there is very little chance due to the state not having given TITLE, for the owners of the licenses to live there, to be able to sell freely. The level of under occupancy is staggering in Sri Lanka, where there is NO CENSUS OF THIS YET. I personally know a large number of "mahagederas", that are crumbling for want of people to live there, as they have all left to cities and overseas, many permanent migrants. As is normal the politicians have their heads buried in the sand, and if they BAN encroachment on state land or give state land, it will increase the value of the remaining homes, making it more attractive to sell, and moving to places with jobs.

SO WHAT IS HAPPENEING NOW? THE GOVT. IS IN THE PROCESS OF GIVING MORE LAND IN EACH OF 14,000 GRAMA NILADARI DIVISIONS, approximately 5 homes each, for a total of 70,000 blocks of land to the homeless to build their homes. Now I am told that all those on Landslide areas will also be given 40 perches to build their homes.

This love affair with the land has to be stopped, as we need a mobile population, NOT AN IMMOBILE one, as the most important and urgent policy, if we are to move people to where the jobs are. There are 250,000 job vacancies with NO ONE to do them. It is because many of the jobs are in places different to where people live.

So why is the Govt. continuing to give land for homes, in places where there is NO WORK? It is the most foolish policy that our foolish lawmakers who have never worked a day in their lives, continue to make for POLITICAL expedience.

I have mentioned earlier, that this is the most opportune moment, where people have to be rehoused due to flooding, that we build multifamily homes in cities where there is employment  and give people the option of buying there.

The CATCH 22 at the moment is, those in rural areas, cannot sell their homes, so they can raise some cash to buy a property near a city where they can find work. They leave their homes in rural areas, and move to the city and live MISERABLY sometimes rented, sometimes in slum conditions due to this foolish policy, and often the husband lives in a boarding house without family.

So I would recommend to the Govt. that they first buy those homes already built OF THOSE WHO WISH TO SELL, for a reasonable price, so the money can be used to buy a home in a suburb. These homes if need be can be sold on a long-term lease to the people who are landless, and provide a seamless transition.