Influence new generation to read books
“One best book is equal to a hundred good friends, but one good friend is equal to a library” - Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
The book is the best associate of all human beings in the world. Reading books creates an absolute person who retains a vast collection of knowledge.
Definitely, such type of tendency enables you to manage time purposely and concentrate successfully. Similarly, books are the greatest medication for anxiety and tiredness, for those burdened with innumerable duties in their lives.
Any significant volume gives you a variety of benefits, whatever the subject and helps cultivate self-confidence, kindness, generosity, honesty and more.
In my opinion there is a huge gap between the book and the children, today. Children use books as an educational aid only.
Their reading is limited to subject oriented books, and they keep the relevant facts in mind solely for their examinations.
This is the most common goal of reading among the new generation. Nevertheless, all children use laptops and mobiles to connect to the internet. The World Wide Web (WWW) makes available enormous websites related to one keyword regarding any topic. The younger generation entirely depends on websites.
They surf WWW to skim the inter-related subject while skipping the entire article.
There are numerous libraries and book stalls in every city in the country, such as, public libraries, schools and religious monasteries, organised by the government or private segments, as well as online libraries.
Each centre facilitates reading zones, borrowing books, and selling books. However, only a few that are interested in reading gather in these centres. The poor enthusiasm for reading is a barrier to progress.
Nowadays, people are more interested in technical conveniences, such as, the computer and the mobiles, rather than the traditional methods. Most books are converted to soft copies, which allows them to read through a Portable Document Format (PDF) using a tablet or mobile.
The ‘Sahithya Month” is held in September every year in Sri Lanka to encourage reading.
It’s gladdening to see significant attention being paid on books during that period, by those who love reading. Many people in Sri Lanka have a habit of buying books at exhibitions.
Unfortunately, this habit is limited to such periods only. Parents and grandparents are responsible to influence children to develop the habit of reading.
They must practise reading valuable books with the children in their childhood.
When a child is grown she or he will continue this habit as a hobby. One day, they will respect you because they would reach the summit of their lives enriched with humanity and knowledge.
Anuradha Jayaweera,
Hindagoda,
Badulla.
Mawanella bus stand dilapidated
Mawanella is a large and popular town in the Kegalle District. The population around Mawanella may be about 40,000, consisting of the three communities Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.
The people living in the suburban villages come to the Mawanella town for many purposes, e.g. to purchase goods for their daily consumption, schoolchildren, office workers, patients, bank customers, etc.
These people’s common mode of transport is the SLTB and the private buses.
The main problem the people face is that a common bus stand is lacking in the town, thereby causing them great inconvenience.
The present bus stand is dilapidated and in a collapsible state where commuters do not have any shelter from the rains.
This state of the bus stand has been in existence for more than 20 years, now.
Although Mawanella has been represented by numerous Ministers, none of them have taken any interest or action to reconstruct the bus stand to cater to the needs of visiting commuters to the town.
As a regular visitor to the town by public transport I request the Member of Parliament for Mawanella, in the Kegalle District, and senior Cabinet Minister and the UNP’s General Secretary, to reconstruct the bus stand, giving it an attractive facelift, as early as possible.
R.P. Kapilaratna,
Mawanella