Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the BMICH to attend the Colombo International Book Fair that began on September 18. The organizers Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, claims that there are publishers from many countries. The lobby areas of the main hall of the BMICH, the adjacent Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre and the grounds were utilized for this event, at which 36 foreign and 165 local exhibitors had confirmed participation.
People of all ages were seen on the premises browsing the many thousands of books that the fair had to offer, until a book that interested him or her was found. Books were not the only thing that could be seen at the event. A few artists were drawing portraits of anyone who wanted them.  As the tickets were priced at only 10 rupees each, gaining access to the fair was not an issue. People were seen sitting on the lawns of the BMICH relaxing and treating themselves to refreshments after hours of walking about, and also to glance through what they had just purchased.
It was indeed a wonderful sight to see so many Sri Lankans and foreign nationals flocking to such an event, that offers a wide variety of knowledge in the form of books, when we live in a time where everything you want to know is just a mouse click away.
The fair will go on till September 26. The Colombo International Book Fair, has indeed become one of the most awaited, attended and loved events in Sri Lanka.

On Friday June 15th, two people were killed while several others had been injured when an unidentified group of men had opened fire at a JVP rally in Katuwana, Hambanthota.
Outraged JVP members held a protest campaign demanding justice for the killings.  The protest began from Technical junction in Colombo, where they marched to the Fort Railway station. The protest was scheduled to start at 3.30, however, rain delayed the march for a few minutes.
Hundreds of JVP supporters, lead by General Secretary of the JVP Tilvin Silva and few other party leaders, marched through the streets of Pettah and gathered in front on the Fort railway station. Even though the main suspect, Geegana-gamage Amarasiri a.k.a. Julampitiye Amare, had surrendered to the Police earlier that day, not for this particular murder, but for other offences including murder, attempted murder and robberies,  the protest went as planned. Anger seemed to fill the air, as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, screaming and chanting verses that projected rage againts the murderers and the government. Even women and children were seeing taking part. Riot police were on duty 100 meters away from the protest, asked to standby if the protest turned violent. The gathering was then addressed by Mr. Tilvin Silva.
He reportedly said that their struggle would not end until the present government, imperialism and the social system that protects them are wiped out. His speech ended, with loud cheers, before everyone dispersed.

Pictures by Thusitha Kumara

The controversial plastic crate law, which came into effect last Tuesday (12), states that certain vegetables and fruits should  be transported from the economic centres around the country to Colombo in plastic crates, wooden crates or cardboard boxes.
The law was introduced to ensure that there was a 35% reduction in the wastage of the fruits and vegetables during transportation.
However, when the market in Kottawa was visited it was found that vegetable and fruit supplies had reduced by 50% following the implementation of the new law. Transporters said that they were refusing to transport the goods as those who did not have the plastic crates were being fined Rs. 7,500.
According to the Ministry of Co-operatives and Internal Trade the law is applicable only to eleven vegetables and ten fruits. S. Nipuna, spokesperson for the Ministry, explained that “these are vegetables and fruits which are high in demand; as such they are continually transported around the country. By transporting them in plastic crates we are avoiding any damage caused to the product.”
Nipuna went on to explain that the ministry had been carrying out raids on economic centres around the country to ensure proper packaging of the fruits and vegetables. He further added that in the past week up to 15 transporters had been found to be incorrectly transporting the products.
He denied that the vegetable supplies had reduced following the implementation of the law.

Some of the children in the community, Children bathe at a roadside tap. The villagers are not sure whether this tap is also to be removed, - The temporary houses, Sunimal earns a living by making incense burners. His house too will be demolished to make way for the new pipeline, - Sumanadasa has been living in this house for 30 years, the red number spray-painted on his wall indicates that his house will be removed and The old pipelines that go through the village. One of these are to be replaced by the CPC. Hence the houses in the way are to be demolished

Home. The very place that you sleep at night, enjoy a meal with your family and also the place you know that is always there for you. Now imagine that it is to be demolished for a petroleum pipeline. This is what the people who are living  between the Bloemendhal garbage hill and the railway tracks at Mahawatte are going through. The Sunday Leader visited this stretch of houses, where there is a community of close to 1,000 people. Even though all of them are not affected by this issue, the people who are, have mixed feelings about this project. Temporary housing has been built for the ones that will be affected, but some are not happy. One lady told us that the houses are too hot to live in and they would rather stay at their current home. Some families have been living in this area for more than 30 years. I spoke to Sunimal (50), a father of three, his house is to be demolished and when asked what he felt about the whole situation, he said there is nothing else to be done but to leave when the construction starts, and he was aware about the temporary houses that were built for them. “I only hope they are habitable,” he said anxiously.
Nisantha, a 40 year old father of three, who said that if they have to move, he hopes they are moved to a better place, rather than a temporary house, where his children can go to a better school and enjoy better living conditions. Others are not sure how long they will be stuck in the temporary houses even though they have been promised permanent homes in two and a half years time by the authorities.

• Workers Are Pawns In The Hands Of Politicians

Our pictorial today showcases in a nutshell what May Day in Sri Lanka has become.  It is nothing but  a senseless political exercise as workers on meagre salaries are exploited by politicians on the one holiday in the calendar year dedicated to them.  This year too, all of the marches and programmes were organised by political parties who enticed workers from Sri Lanka’s lower income strata with a ‘buth’ packet and free access to alcohol to participate in what was merely a show for egocentric politicians. The exception being the commemorative programme to remember the death anniversary of the late President R. Premadasa.
Pictures by Thusitha Kumara, Asoka Fernando and Rajini Rajendran

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1st May 2012

The Editor,
“The Sunday Leader”,
24, Katukurunduwatte Road,
Ratmalana
May Day Observance in Jaffna

I was surprised to find that the UNP held a May Day rally in Jaffna in alliance with the Tamil National Alliance. May Day (May 1st) is observed in Sri Lanka as a ‘Political Party Day’ to project the strength of various political parties, exhibiting the disunity of the workers and their naiveté in going after political party patronage, sacrificing the dignity of the day dedicated to workers at the feet of political sycophancy.
However, what is obnoxious is the UNP aligning with the Tamil National Alliance which is a racial organisation when the working class transcends racialism and communalism. The UNP by doing so has gone against the very principle meant to be followed on May Day, dedicated to the workers. Of course, the UNP aligning with the TNA for political purposes is understandable but not to observe May Day.
Apart from that, what is significant is the UNP’s ability to spread the disease of disunity it is suffering from to the TNA too, perhaps another feather in the UNP leader’s hat.

Yours truly,
Upali S. Jayasekera

Vesak, is one of the biggest and most important days in the Buddhist calender in Sri Lanka and other countries. Even through war and hard times Vesak was celebrated, with most households having at least  one lantern or a Buddhist flag hung in their garden, lit by a single candle or light bulb, to signify the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Lord Buddha. Walking through the busy streets of Colombo, we captured some of the activities that were taking place. From vendors selling traditional Vesak lanterns, to the members of the security forces joining hands to decorate and light up the city for this highly significant day. Millions of bulbs have come up all over the city. Everywhere you look you can see a Buddhist flag fluttering in the wind and the streets lined with lanterns. The area around the Beira lake seemed to be decorated the most, with even Lotus lanterns placed on the water . Little roadside shops selling various Vesak related merchandise that have been set up during the season can be seen almost everywhere. You can also see children of various ages at these temporary shops, helping their elders in selling and making the lanterns; some children keep a close eye on the merchandise while the adults are busy. People too could be seen going home with purchased lanterns to celebrate this majestic event. Vesak is one of the most colorful and beautiful religious events in our country, and its significance lies in it being associated with the Buddha and His universal message of peace. Vesak is a completely religious festival wherein the Buddhist are required to reaffirm their faith in the Buddha Dharma and vow to lead a noble religious life.

Dengue is a deadly disease that is caused by the dengue virus, which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito has become a common situation in our country of late.
Even with so many laws and regulation implemented by the government to control the disease and spread awareness to the public, this doesn’t seem to be effective when you look at the number of cases that have been reported this year.
The Epidemiology Unit says that during the last 3 months of the year 2012, 10685 suspected dengue cases and 46 deaths have been reported to them.
According to their statistics,  in January there have been 3892 cases, 3004 cases in February, 2543 cases in March and 1246 cases in April. An approximate 50.56% of dengue cases were reported from the Western province. The highest numbers of dengue cases were reported during the month of January and they also say that it is important to seek medical attention in the event of fever by day three of the illness.
The characteristic symptoms of dengue are sudden-onset fever, headache (typically located behind the eyes), muscle and joint pains, and a rash. The alternative name for dengue, “break-bone fever,” comes from the associated muscle and joint pains.
It seems that one of the main reasons this disease is spreading is because of pure negligence by the public, if everyone did their part, by properly disposing their garbage and waste material, rather than just throwing them around their gardens, or on the sides of the road, this problem could be controlled. We see so many plastic cups, empty coconut shells, and tires along the road, which can collect rain water easily and become an ideal habitat for these mosquitoes to breed. As there is no vaccine, prevention is mainly sought by reducing the habitat, which is our part as a community and responsible individuals to carry out. But also it is the duty of the relevant municipal and urban councils to make sure that they collect and properly dispose of the garbage that are found on the roadsides. Because unattended roadside dumps have so much of vessels that can collect rain water that these parasites will use as their breeding grounds.
Hopefully with more awareness and support from both government officials and the general public, we could make this country free of this epidemic in the future. This may seem like an difficult task, but it is the only way to save future lives from becoming victims to this deadly disease.