New One Way Roads

[Saturn]

Day by day they chaging and closing roads guys, its very hard thing, but today the trafic was so hi cus of somekind of a park and Horn thing middle of the road by Mr Ranil W

There's some irony in tooting your horn to complain about fuel, when you are driving an extremely inefficient vehicle, funded by the public (at least, I assume these politicians are).

And besides, what can the govt do? They can't do much about the price of fuel.

True they could lower taxes or something.. but then, wheres the fun in that..

Edited June 3, 2008 by Saturn

[Watchman]

in the news, i saw a three-wheel driver pull out a air-horn and blow it( or release it or whatever u doe with one of those)... i didnt know they were available in SL.. you know those can-like things with compressed air...

[Ripper]

in the news, i saw a three-wheel driver pull out a air-horn and blow it( or release it or whatever u doe with one of those)... i didnt know they were available in SL.. you know those can-like things with compressed air...

Just got this from a friend... I'm in

Dear All,

I'm sure all of you endured the torture today. The situation has built up gradually and this morning was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I have spoken to the CPA and in keeping with the judicial trends at the moment, they believe that we might be able to convince court to put an end to the harrassment of citizens in the name of 'national security'.

The suggestion is that as many people as possible are rounded up and made Petitioners in a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court. As you may know, the Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees many fundamental rights to its citizens (i.e. - us), the freedom of movement being one among those. http://www.constitution.gov.lk/constitutionSL1978.shtml <http://www.constitution.gov.lk/constitutionSL1978.shtml> (specifically Articles 10 - 14). The constant and unannounced road closures and inexplicable traffic buildup is a source of much annoyance, stress, and monetary detriment to individuals and corporates alike. One person took four hours to get to work today. The loss of man hours in the commercial hub of Colombo is innumerable and when crystallised will have a huge effect on GDP.

In the face of horrendous fuel costs, many people can ill afford to burn several litres to travel a few hundred metres. It is just not possible. Furthermore, it is a far cry from security, as if a bomb goes off in all that congested traffic, the damage will be far far more severe than it would otherwise be. Not only can a fire brigade or ambulance not attend the scene given the buildup of thousands of vehicles wounded cannot be evacuated and those who could have been saved may also succumb. With international oil prices rising it is also a huge wastage of resources.

As such, the situation is dire, and something needs to take place. The plan is that we round up as many apolitical petitioners as possible (all you have to be is a citizen faced with hardship), and ask the Supreme Court to intervene. We may at least be able to get them to define what 'national security' is. Whether it is the sacrifice of the time, energy and money of thousands of people to 'protect' a handful of VVIP's?

This is not a political campaign but purely citizens asserting their rights to live peacefully in their own country. It will not cost anything and will only require you to consent to being a petitioner in a fundamental rights application before the Supreme Court. The justice system is not completely dead and we should use it before we are.

Do let us know if you're interested at [email protected] and pass this message to others who might be.

[Watchman]

seems like a good cause. I mailed them, but its hard to imagine the govt opening all the closed roads... but surely worth a try..

one road they SHOULD open is the road at the end of nawam mawatha, the one that goes to slave-island near ArmyHQ. it wil ease a LOT of office traffic not to mention take a lot of the vehicles that have to goto the junction near Nawaloka...

[Pericles]

Just got this from a friend... I'm in

Did you get this direct from source or forwarded?

My sis is at J and C. Let me check and see if this is real before flooding them.

[Ripper]

Did you get this direct from source or forwarded?

My sis is at J and C. Let me check and see if this is real before flooding them.

no machang...it was a forward from a friend at GSK.

Super if you can check out the authenticity of it

[Pericles]

Well, it's genuine. Its a personal effort, not a company backed one, but it IS being initiated by a properly credentialed lawyer, so it might actually do some good. I'm in too.

[Arc Angel]

Well, it's genuine. Its a personal effort, not a company backed one, but it IS being initiated by a properly credentialed lawyer, so it might actually do some good. I'm in too.

hey this is great.

but you guys think it'll really help? I'm all in for this and I really hope some good will come of it..

but didn't the supreme court also order the withdrawal of check points?

oh well, I guess we've gotta try something.. I'm in.

[charitha19]

Well if this can be done.. i am in too.. so whats the course of action

[Ripper]

Well if this can be done.. i am in too.. so whats the course of action

well i just mailed that guy... assuming he will get back with details for next step.

@Arc

well it might or might not work but it's great to see someone stepping up and voicing their opinion. we shouldn't let these politicos walk all over us all the time

[charitha19]

well i just mailed that guy... assuming he will get back with details for next step.

@Arc

well it might or might not work but it's great to see someone stepping up and voicing their opinion. we shouldn't let these politicos walk all over us all the time

well thats true machang.. if these things happen in india.. people would have been burning thier houses by now.. shouldnt go to that extreme though...

but we should quit being such a tollerent nation and fight back...

[Pericles]

hey this is great.

but you guys think it'll really help? I'm all in for this and I really hope some good will come of it..

but didn't the supreme court also order the withdrawal of check points?

oh well, I guess we've gotta try something.. I'm in.

Well, if there is one thing that Shanaka has a flair for, it is talking and dramatics I'm sure he'll get it done if it can be.

[The Don]

Well there is a possible election next year which might be another avenue to voice your opinion.

Point is does our country have a viable opposition ?????? That seems to be the biggest problem !

In principle at least I do not feel the one way system is such a bad idea. I mean in the greater colombo area there is very little potential for widening roads and the only other option is to build fly overs which might take another century or two ! So in principle at least by implementing a one way system you can reduce congestion though it does mean longer routes and fuel wasted !

[Pericles]

Don't think its the one way per say thats the problem. The uni-flow was running ok. Main issue is the sudden closing of roads causing blockages, and the closing off of certain roads.

They should give up this blocking off streets and move the high risk targets to the same place. More convenient, less resources needed to look after them, more security for the targets, and keeps them out of our way.

Preferably build a nice big bunker and have the whole lot live and work in there.

[Devinda_Z]

They should give up this blocking off streets and move the high risk targets to the same place. More convenient, less resources needed to look after them, more security for the targets, and keeps them out of our way.

Preferably build a nice big bunker and have the whole lot live and work in there.

didn't they try this all once before when they attempted to relocate everything to Kotte or somewhere or the other??

[xXx]

Well there is a possible election next year which might be another avenue to voice your opinion.

Has it been 6 years already??? There are too many elections in this small country I have actually lost count. According to my calculations current government can stay till 2010. Unless the SLA bag some victories in wanni I doubt the government will call for a general election before end of the current tenure.

Point is does our country have a viable opposition ?????? That seems to be the biggest problem !

Unfortunately this is one of the main reasons why the government is running havoc just like the 1977 UNP regime. If things continue the same way I can see a collision forming under the main opposition party if the government call for a snap election. But everything will depend on the way the drama is unfolding in wanni. Couple of victories will ensure another 6 years in the council for the ‘chinthanay and the goons’.

[Ripper]

Has it been 6 years already??? There are too many elections in this small country I have actually lost count. According to my calculations current government can stay till 2010. Unless the SLA bag some victories in wanni I doubt the government will call for a general election before end of the current tenure.

Unfortunately this is one of the main reasons why the government is running havoc just like the 1977 UNP regime. If things continue the same way I can see a collision forming under the main opposition party if the government call for a snap election. But everything will depend on the way the drama is unfolding in wanni. Couple of victories will ensure another 6 years in the council for the ‘chinthanay and the goons’.

guys

the problem partly lies with our people...the public that is.

I'm a bit active on certain defence blogs and the moment you criticize something that the government or the military is doing you're instantly labeled as a UNPer or an LTTEre... Some folks see the world only in these few glasses...

They don't take a moment to analyze whether the point made is valid and just or not... if it's not what they think is right... bam and you're busted

that's why i would like to see people voicing their thoughts and standing up for what's right..

In this case beyond a shadow of doubt...it's absolutely crazy to have roads completely closed out... They used to close the road whenever a V*P was taking that route and being not happy with that...it has come to complete closure...

[Pericles]

http://chaarmax.wordpress.com/2008/05/29/thank-you/

Interesting rant.

[The Don]

guys

the problem partly lies with our people...the public that is.

I'm a bit active on certain defence blogs and the moment you criticize something that the government or the military is doing you're instantly labeled as a UNPer or an LTTEre... Some folks see the world only in these few glasses...

They don't take a moment to analyze whether the point made is valid and just or not... if it's not what they think is right... bam and you're busted

that's why i would like to see people voicing their thoughts and standing up for what's right..

In this case beyond a shadow of doubt...it's absolutely crazy to have roads completely closed out... They used to close the road whenever a V*P was taking that route and being not happy with that...it has come to complete closure...

Ripper you are exactly right !

I've been quite surprised by the blind naive beliefs held by friends of mine as well, about the ethnic conflict guriella warfare and so on !

Perhaps the conflict and the roots behind the conflict, the present nature of the conflict, the nature of this sort of urban warfare in general is quite complex and requires quite a bit of insight and thinking and most people take the easy route make simplistic assumptions based mostly on propaganda and believe me this is true of both sides of the fence !

Also it is sad that most people are not capable of objective dialog and take things very personally and become violent and abusive very quickly !

[Watchman]

today i got off Nawam Mw onto the main road and started moving towads bishops at abt 6.10 and was suprised that there was NO oncoming traffic except for a occasional car bike. but as i neared Gangarama i was at the end of a queue. the cops had put a BUS ACROSS THE ROAD so that some V*P coming from the BC auditorium road can move freely. This really was too much!

i'm curius to know, what if you're at the front of the queue, and you dont wanna be stuck so that some ass can go, I show them my ID and say i have to go and start moving. Will they they shoot? cos i reckon if the 1st guy goes and the cops dont do anything, the rest will follow...

[Devinda_Z]

today i got off Nawam Mw onto the main road and started moving towads bishops at abt 6.10 and was suprised that there was NO oncoming traffic except for a occasional car bike. but as i neared Gangarama i was at the end of a queue. the cops had put a BUS ACROSS THE ROAD so that some V*P coming from the BC auditorium road can move freely. This really was too much!

i'm curius to know, what if you're at the front of the queue, and you dont wanna be stuck so that some ass can go, I show them my ID and say i have to go and start moving. Will they they shoot? cos i reckon if the 1st guy goes and the cops dont do anything, the rest will follow...

they will shoot

they closed the road and as such obstructed an ambulance near Gangaramaya with a patient in a bad way who was being taken to Nawaloka and refused let the vehicle pass - it was caught on MMS and then aired on Swarnawahini - didn't make the slightest difference

[Watchman]

they will shoot

they closed the road and as such obstructed an ambulance near Gangaramaya with a patient in a bad way who was being taken to Nawaloka and refused let the vehicle pass - it was caught on MMS and then aired on Swarnawahini - didn't make the slightest difference

the dont even let an ambulance pass!!?!?!?!??!!!

maybe Swaranwahini was the wrong channel to air it, Sirasa would have given it a bit of a more dramatic perspective to it...

[Ripper]

today i got off Nawam Mw onto the main road and started moving towads bishops at abt 6.10 and was suprised that there was NO oncoming traffic except for a occasional car bike. but as i neared Gangarama i was at the end of a queue. the cops had put a BUS ACROSS THE ROAD so that some V*P coming from the BC auditorium road can move freely. This really was too much!

i'm curius to know, what if you're at the front of the queue, and you dont wanna be stuck so that some ass can go, I show them my ID and say i have to go and start moving. Will they they shoot? cos i reckon if the 1st guy goes and the cops dont do anything, the rest will follow...

the bus thing is quite common mate and yes they will shoot

[pissa]

the bus thing is quite common mate and yes they will shoot

not only that, most of the times they ask the vehicles in front to switch off thier engines... happened to me once, when i was in front...

[AMG]

not only that, most of the times they ask the vehicles in front to switch off thier engines... happened to me once, when i was in front...

May be they concern your fuel...