Bar Association Wants Colombo Mayor To Remove MR Hoardings

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has sent a letter of demand against the Colombo Municipal Council Mayor A. J. M. Musammil demanding him to take immediate steps to remove the large number of illegal propaganda hoardings of President Mahinda Rajapakse within the municipality of Colombo forthwith.

The BASL reiterated that in the event of failure to comply with this demand it would institute legal proceedings against the Mayor for contempt of court and for non compliance of law and acts of corruption upon his noncompliance with this demand with immediate effect.

The BASL had sent this letter of demand through Samararatne Associates stated that the Bar Association of a Sri Lanka, acting through its Bar Council and the Executive Committee, have unanimously resolved to take up matters concerning Free and Fair Elections to be held on the 8th of January 2014.

The BASL stated a very large number of propaganda hoardings, approximately 1800, of President Mahinda Rajapakse have been put up within the city limits of Colombo in direct violation of the by-laws published in the Gazette Notification dated 20.01.1989 and Advertising Guidelines of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) which came into effect in 01.01.2006 and without any consideration given to the detrimental effects such unauthorized hoardings have trespassed on the scenic beauty of the city, blocking most of the traffic signs.

The BASL observed that such display hoardings had been allowed by Mayor without any regard to the scenic beauty and the historical value of the capital city of the country, and also without due regard to safety of the public.

The BASL informed that displaying of advertisements/hoardings within the Colombo Municipality is regulated by the Advertisement, Decoration and Posters By-Law 1991 of the CMC. Section 2 of the said By-law, stated that,

“No one shall display any advertisement or cause any advertisement to be displayed so as to be visible from any street, road, canal, lake, sea or the sky except under the authority of a license issued in that behalf.”

The BASL further stated that such display of hoardings which carries the photograph of the President Mahinda Rajapakse who has declared his intention to contest the forthcoming Presidential Election, have not obtained the approval of the CMC nor displayed the approved number of hoardings as sought from the CMC.

The BASL further stated that these hoardings have been put up in violation of Clauses 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12 of the advertising guidelines of the CMC.

The BASL further stated that the Supreme Court of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in S.C.F.R Application No.252/2007 directed that the Colombo Municipal Council take steps to strictly enforce the by-laws published in the Gazette Notification dated 20.01.1989 and the guidelines for advertising in Colombo which came into effect on 01.01.2006 and a further direction was made by Their Lordships of the Supreme Court that all unauthorized/illegal hoardings erected in the Colombo Municipal Council area which were given approval in violation of the aforementioned by-laws and the guidelines for advertising in Colombo to be removed by the Colombo Municipal Council.

The BASL further observed that the Mayor have been further directed by the Commissioner of Elections by his letter dated 30th November 2014 that these illegal hoardings be removed and he has failed to carry out the said direction in flagrant violation of Law and continue to permit the exhibition of these illegal hoardings. The Mayor has thereby acted in a corrupt manner falling within the Bribery and Corruption Law.

The high cost of dying - EDITORIAL FROM The Daily Mirror - 08/11/2014

The 2015 Budget provides unprecedented relief measures which former National Cricket Captain Sanath Jayasuriya in symbolic language has described as a Man of the Match all-round performance – good in batting, bowling and fielding. Cricket apart, with its business and match-fixing agendas, the reality for millions of people is that the cost of living is soaring above and beyond political boundaries. Now we are facing a graver and deadlier fact – the cost of dying is also likely to blaze like a pyre.   

According to media reports, the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is considering a proposal to increase the charge for a four-square-foot plot of land used for depositing ashes at the Borella Kanatte by tenfold, from Rs.15,000 to Rs.150,000. In a crisis where taxes, taxes and more taxes are imposed on people from the cradle to the grave or from the womb to the tomb, increases have also been proposed in the charges for plots at the Madampitiya Cemetery from Rs.12,500 to Rs.75,000 while at the Jawatte Cemetery the proposed increase is from Rs.12,500 to Rs.110,000. The charge for a small vault at the Kirulapona Cemetery is likely to be increased from Rs.7,500 to Rs.50,000.

A CMC spokesperson is reported to have said the value of one perch of land at the Borella Kanatte is about Rs. 10 million and the proposed increase is mainly due to a lack of space. Something appears to be wrong in this CMC valuation because even at plush residential areas in Borella, land is valued at about Rs. 5 million a perch. 

Colombo’s Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil has said the massive increase proposed by the CMC’s public health department has been referred to the Finance Committee. 

Though millions of people may have no option but to find ways of coping with the rising cost of living, they certainly do have an option in bringing down the high cost of dying. For instance, the Muslim community has a simple and humble way of burying the dead. They do not pay big amounts to undertakers who have overtaken most other businesses in terms of profit-making. The Muslim community does not follow the procedure of embalming and other expensive funeral rites like luxury coffins or hearses. Instead, within 24 hours of death, the body is wrapped in a white cloth, placed in a reusable casket and carried to the burial grounds if it is nearby or transported in a simple vehicle provided by Janaza Welfare Committees. The bodies are buried in common plots with a small nominal administrative cost being paid. 

In contrast, we often see today luxury or extravagant funerals where people pay several lakhs of rupees for coffins, hearses and other funeral rites, followed by equally expensive alms givings which are often given to the haves instead of the have-nots. No religion encourages expensive funeral rites and they are just another fashionable trend where one family tries to do better than the other. The competitive spirit of this selfish, self-centred and greedy era is so stiff that we try to follow it even at death, blissfully ignoring the reality that all things and everyone is transient and impermanent. 

As for the CMC’s move to raise the charges tenfold, most people could place the ashes in a small vault in their own gardens. In India most Hindus in a revered way put the ashes into the Ganges River and a similar practice could be followed in Sri Lanka also while many selfless people donate the bodies to medical faculties for the benefit of humanity.