Before Minister Rathnayake’s “do or depart” advice boomerangs...

Reminding us of the Latin phrase “disce aut discede” (Learn or depart) which is also the motto of the Royal College, Colombo, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake in a recent meeting warned officials of the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) to “do or depart.”

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He pointed out the appalling conditions of the amenities in trains in the country. He questioned why the relevant official cannot repair the windows and toilets and replace the broken fans in compartments, despite his ministry having allocated sufficient funds to do them. He reminded them of a recent incident where a five-year old child got his fingers crushed when a poorly maintained shutter of a window fell of them.

Voicing concern at the monumental lethargy in Sri Lanka’s bureaucracy, Rathnayake said that he had informed the relevant official several times -- over the phone and personally meeting him -- to repair the windows, but this request was ignored. Subsequently, he politely sent a message to the officials saying that he loved to work with them, but if they are not prepared to perform their duties, they should depart. Meanwhile, The Anuradhapura High Court in a landmark ruling ordered the Transport Minister and the relevant officials to renovate all railway stations between Vavuniya and Mahawa to ensure accessibility to persons with disabilities.