Opinion
Is it all Hunky Dory?
To say that I was anxious when it was announced that the President was due to address the nation (24th of June 2021) would be an understatement.
However, even in retrospect I feel my emotional position was justified. After all according to the prevailing news we are in one of our worst economic crises. The foreign reserves are at an all-time low. The country is more or less shut down adding to the economic doldrums further. Despite the repeated assurances, there are daily news casts of the farmers and their woes regarding the lack of fertiliser. Crops are not doing well. It seems to be a case of when the vegetables are available the traders are not available and when the traders are available the vegetables are not available –with corresponding ‘yo yoing’ of the vegetable prices. We apparently have a surplus of rice, but nevertheless a hundred thousand metric tons of rice is to be imported. A ship has burnt down triggering one of the worst marine biology disasters in our history. Millions are spent on Covid testing daily, not to mention other related expenses, but we do not seem to have a handle on the spread of this disease. A vaccination programme is being rolled out consuming further millions of rupees, with a huge amount of criticism on whether the programme is being executed effectively. A new Delta variant, so far the worst, was imminent – now isolated from the community; predicting that the worst is yet to come.
In this background I was ready to ‘batten down the hatches’ as it were and get ready for the future. This was a new enemy that we needed to face, but, nevertheless an enemy. I thought of my ancestors preparing for war against the various invasions we have had over the times. Struggling through droughts, plagues, economic crises in more recent times.
The closest, I thought, we have been to this type of crisis was probably during the SLFP government in the 1970s. There was an international oil crisis; the price of oil went from 147 in 1972 to 826 in 1975. Bretton Woods system of orderly exchange rates collapsed creating chaos in currency management. There was the JVP insurrection of 1971. There were privations all around. Rationing, coupons, limited foreign exchange when going abroad, etc. Despite all of this, the government, under the astute guidance and foresight of Dr. N.M. Perera pulled through. Not only that; we hosted the Non-Aligned Conference under the chairmanship of the late Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. I remember the fleet of 504s that were brought in for this. There was the construction of the Summit flats complex. Among all this there was a budget surplus as recalled by Prof. Tissa Vitharana, a fellow comrade in arms of Dr. N.M. Perera. Though Prof. Tissa Vitharana was not in that government, the present Prime Minister, the brother of the current President was there. Having defeated Dr. Ranjith Attapattu from the Beliatta seat, Mahinda Rajapaksa, one of the youngest backbenchers of the SLFP, at the age of 24 had a front row seat during this crisis. I am sure he must be recalling these events like ‘yesterday’.
And so I thought, with firsthand experience on how to handle a crisis, the fuel hike must be the first sacrifice. Increased taxes, rationing, foregoing luxuries – cheese and butter, cakes and sweets – hard times were to come. Nevertheless we will prevail. We will get over this and emerge stronger than before and I said to myself ‘courage willow’ (for those who are unfamiliar – from the movie Willow, 1988, many years ago).
The initial shot of the President standing with the Ruwnweli Seya in the background confirmed my worst fears. However, as the talk progressed my initial apprehension eased off. The President continued to outline the issues we are facing and the actions that have been taken and that are being taken; it seemed like everything is under control. Probably things are actually not too bad after all. Now with the rumours that Basil Rajapakse is to enter Parliament and may actually bring down fuel prices, things could be in fact better than Hunky Dory.
Dr. Sumedha S. Amarasekara
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 departed Denver, Colorado for Chicago, Illinois. The forecast weather was fine. Unfortunately, engine no. 2 – the middle engine in the tail of the three-engined McDonnell Douglas DC 10 – suffered an explosive failure of the fan disk, resulting in all three hydraulic system lines to the aircraft’s control surfaces being severed. This rendered the DC-10 uncontrollable except by the highly unorthodox use of differential thrust on the remaining two serviceable engines mounted on the wings.
Consequently, the aircraft was forced to divert to Sioux City, Iowa to attempt an emergency crash landing. But the crew lost control at the last moment and the airplane crashed. Out of a total of 296 passengers and crew, 185 survived.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) declared after an investigation that besides the skill of the operating crew, one significant factor in the survival rate was that hospitals in proximity to the airport were experiencing a change of shifts and therefore able to co-opt the outgoing and incoming shift workers to take over the additional workload of attending to crash victims.
One wonders what would have happened if an overflying aircraft diverted to MRIA-Mattala, BIA-Colombo, Colombo International Airport Ratmalana (CIAR) or Palaly Airport, KKS during the doctors’ strike in the 24 hours starting March 12, 2025? Would the authorities have been able to cope? International airlines (over a hundred a day) are paying in dollars to overfly and file Sri Lankan airports as en route alternates (diversion airports).
Doctors in hospitals in the vicinity of the above-named international airports cannot be allowed to go on strike, and their services deemed essential. Even scheduled flights to those airports could be involved in an accident, with injured passengers at risk of not receiving prompt medical attention.
The civil aviation regulator in this country seems to be sitting fat, dumb, and happy, as we say in aviation.
Guwan Seeya
Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):
‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.
However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.
Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK
If the people of this country were asked whether they want elections to the local government, majority of them would say no! How many years have elapsed since the local councils became defunct? And did not the country function without these councils that were labelled as ‘white elephants’?
If the present government’s wish is to do the will of the people, they should reconsider having local government elections. This way the government will not only save a considerable amount of money on holding elections, but also save even a greater amount by not having to maintain these local councils, which have become a bane on the country’s economy.
One would hope that the country will be able to get rid of these local councils and revert back to the days of having competent Government Agents and a team of dedicated government officials been tasked with the responsibility of attending to the needs of the people in those areas.
M. Joseph A. Nihal Perera
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