A bouquet for Railways Minister Dullas Alahapperuma
It was the late evening of Saturday the 14th, December. I was a passenger in the Colombo bound intercity train from Nanu Oya. When it reached Ihalakotte, a small station situated between Kadugannawa and Kadigamuwa, the train was stopped by the control room to give way to a Kandy bound train, which should have reached this station in a matter of 17 minutes, but it never came. As time passed by I could hear screams and angry yelling from infants to adults, who are in a “No way out” situation at a place which is situated in middle of the nowhere. The main reason for the anger was that when they reach Colombo, they will not have the means of transport to reach their destinations.
I, as another passenger having obtained the transport minister’s telephone number, initiated a call never having any hope whatsoever, that I will get any response. But to my utmost surprise it was the minister himself who picked the phone. Having listened to me he obtained my number, then I thought, this is a typical Sri Lankan pacification tactic.
The second surprise came my way, when I received a call from Nalin, the Minister’s secretary, who by that time had obtained all information regarding the incident and related it to us. The prediction was that the train will only reach Fort close to midnight, as the engine of the other train had failed and it had to be towed.
Again without having any positive hopes, on behalf of the commuters I urged him if he could, to arrange some busses for all passengers to get to their destinations, and the answer was as usual, “I will look into it”. Ten minutes later he (Nalin) called to inform me that four SLTB buses destined to Negombo, Horana, Awissawella and Kalutara will be stationed opposite the Fort station. This made me and the staff of the train to wonder whether we were in Sri Lanka. Isn’t this a praiseworthy case of setting an example by a Minister and his personal staff on how to serve the public?
It did not stop at that, I was contacted by one Dammika Hewapathirana, who introduced himself as the CEO of the SLTB and informed me about the transport arrangements.
Finally the train reached Colombo Fort by 11.45 pm, and the four busses were kept ready there. The dedication and commitment of the Minister’s secretary and the SLTB CEO didn’t end there. Both of them phoned me to ensure the buses were sufficient and that there was no passenger who was stranded. I reached my destination by 1 a.m., and before I could enter my house I received another call from the great secretary of a great leader Minister Dallas Alahapperuma, to find out if everything was okay, and to ensure that no passenger was stranded.
I think all newspapers will publish this story, as an eye opener to all other politicians and those who hold public office.
Also, in our beautiful country, whenever we call a Minister, some joker claiming to be the secretary to the respective minister, denies us access, saying the minister is busy at meetings etc. But in this instance, Minister Alahapperuma himself picked the phone with just one ring, and instructed his staff to ensure the safety of the commuters, which was very well attended to by his staff.
By Fouzer Sheriffdeen
Source: The Island
Tags: colombo, commuters, information, intercity train, kandy, nanu oya, passengers, personal staff, politicians, railways, sri lanka, station, transport minister
