Tuesday 24th January, 2006 11

PUBLIC AUCTION SALE BYCOMMERCIAL BANK OF CEYLON LIMITED

(Maharagama Branch)By virtue of authority granted to me by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limitedunder Section 4 of the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act No. 4of 1990, I shall sell by Public Auction the property described below at the spot,

ON 13TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2006 AT 10.30 A.M.

All that divided and defined allotment of land marked Lot 5 in Plan No. 4306 dated2nd October 2001 made by K. D. S. Ratnayake, Licensed Surveyor of the landcalled DAWATAGAHAWATTA alias KOSGAHAWATTA presently bearing As-sessment Nos. 36/1 and 36/2 situated at Thudella within the Pradeshiya Sabha Limitsof Dandugama in the Ragam Pattu of Aluth Kuru Korale South in the District ofGampaha Western Province, containing in extent TWENTY SIX DECIMALNOUGHT SIX PERCHES (A0-R0-P26.06) together with building, trees, planta-tions and everything standing thereon.

The property that is mortgaged to the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limited byPODDIWALA MARAGE CHAMENDRA SOMATHUNGA as the obligor.

Please see the Govt. Gazette and Lankadeepa, Thinakaran and The Island newspa-pers dated 10.06.2005. Also see the Govt. Gazette of 20.01.2006 and Lankadeepaand The Island newspaper of 24.01.2006 regarding the publication of Sale Notice.Access to Land:Proceed from Ja-Ela Junction, along Negombo Road, for about 1 k.m. and thenturn right, opposite St. Mary’s Church and proceed along Kudahakapala Road forabout 400 metres and turn right to the P.S. Road, Just passing the Thudella RailwayStation. Now proceed along the P.S. Road for about 50 metres and immediatelyafter crossing the railway line turn right and proceed along the 10 ft. wide roadreservation which is parallel to the railway line for about 25 metres, to reach thesubject property, which is opposite the Railway Station.

Mode of Payment:

The successful purchaser should pay the following amounts in cash to the auction-eer at the fall of the hammer.

(1) Ten Percent (10%) of the purchase price.(2) One Percent (01%) as Local Authority Tax.(3) Two Decimal Five Percent (2.5%) as the Auctioneer’s Commission.(4) Notary’s attestation fees Rs. 2000/-(5) Clerk’s & Crier’s wages Rs. 500/-.(6) Total costs of Advertising incurred on the sale.(7) The balance Ninety Percent (90%) of the purchased price should be deposited

with the Commercial Bank of Ceylon Limited Head Office or at theMaharagama Branch within 30 days from the date of sale.

Further, particulars regarding Title, Deeds and other connected documents couldbe obtained from the following officers.

Manager,Commercial Bank of Ceylon Ltd.,No. 154,Highlevel Road,Maharagama,Telephone: 2850505

28449152844914

Fax: 28512322745070

L.B. Senanayake — J.P.Senior Licensed Auctioneer, Valuerand Court Commissioner forCommercial High Court & DistrictCourt ColomboSenior Licensed Auctioneer forState & Commercial Banks.No. 99, Hulftsdorp Street,Colombo 12.Telephone/Fax: 2445393

By Frances BoothThe song of the blackbird, chaffinch or

robin is, for many, a welcome part of every-day life. Increasingly, however, a lessexpected visitor is being heard - and itmakes an almighty screech.

The ring-necked parakeet - an exotic,green native of India - that has made the“Top 20 most spotted birds” in some areasof Britain. It has overtaken the song thrush- which has disappeared from the Top 20nationally - and has even made it into theTop 10 in some areas of London.

The colourful newcomer is indicative ofchanging patterns of wildlife, where unusu-al and exotic species surprisingly thrive inthe British climate.

The RSPB predicts that the parakeetpopulation will more than treble in the nextfour years. Its findings show that twocolonies - one in Lewisham, south-eastLondon and one covering Esher, Surreyand parts of west London - will soon join,forming a swathe of colour across theregion.

A mass public bird watch - which startstoday in schools, and takes place nextweekend in gardens around the country -will add valuable data on the species. TimWebb, of the RSPB, said there were about13,000 ring-necked parakeets in Britain,12,000 in London and the Home Counties.

RSPB estimates suggest that by 2010the population will approach 50,000.

There are up to 7,000 birds in the westLondon and Esher colony. About 4,000 ofthese are in Esher, around the rugby clubthere. The Lewisham colony is smaller.

Mr Webb said the numbers of birds werenot at a worrying level but they may be ifthey increased at the present rate until

2020. The parakeets are hole-nesting birds,and will compete with robins, woodpeckersand owls.

The native range of the parakeet (psit-tacula krameri) is a broad belt from Africaacross India south of the Himalayas.Theories on how they became establishedin Britain include claims that pairs escapedfrom Kew Gardens or an aviary at SyonHouse, west London.

They have been seen in almost everyEnglish county, and occasionally inScotland and Wales. Last year they wererecorded in 21 of London’s 32 boroughs,and were one of the 10 most spotted birdsin Richmond upon Thames and Hounslow.

The RSPB said that although the para-keet is not a new inhabitant to the South ofEngland -records from the start of the 20thcentury include sightings in west London -

its population has reached a level where ithas become more noticeable.

Mr Webb said: “I think it is fantastic thatyou can see them, they are wonderful birdsto see. People enjoy the spectacle of them,and they are just so unexpected, particular-ly in London.”

Ring-necks have a wingspan of up to 30inches and nest in trees. They have strong,large beaks but would not attack otherbirds, or humans, the RSPB said.

Despite rising numbers, there is littleevidence of the birds causing damage,apart from one incident at a vineyard.

Tim Bale, the chief executive officer ofEsher rugby club, said the birds made a“huge amount of noise” and “a lot of mess”.

The ring-necked parakeet is protectedunder the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

(C) The Telegraph Group London 2006

Bye bye, blackbird, thefuture is looking green

It may be the biggest and most powerful retailchain in Britain, but Tesco is failing to win thehearts and minds of its customers, research

reveals today.The supermarket has been ranked 33 out of 69

in a survey to find Britain's favourite store.Tesco's relatively lowly position behind

Morrisons, Asda and Boots suggests that manyshoppers are uneasy about its dominance.

Britain's most popular store is John Lewis,while its sister supermarket Waitrose is rankednumber two, the annual consumer satisfactionindex survey from Verdict research found.

Tesco, which takes one pound in every threespent on groceries in Britain, is the most success-ful store in British retail history.

However, over the last couple of years therehave been growing complaints that Tesco and theother big three supermarkets are destroying small-er independent corner stores and have too muchinfluence over suppliers.

Many farmers complain that they are beingdriven out of business because they cannot standup to the power of the supermarkets.

Nick Gladding, of Verdict, who conducted thesurvey of 6,000 shoppers, said it had become pop-ular to knock Tesco. "It is extremely good at what itdoes, but people see it as a bit of a omnipotentretailer."

A spokesman from Tesco said: "We know wecan always do better, but the thousands of cus-tomers we talk to every week tell us we areimproving their shopping trip all the time includinglower prices, a bigger range of products and greatquality."

Mr Gladding also believes few people enjoyshopping at supermarkets. Asda was ranked 18out of 69, Morrisons came in at 32 and Sainsbury'swas 54th in the survey, which asks people to ratestores on their price, range, convenience, quality,service, ambience, facilities and layout.

The highest rated supermarket was Waitrose,which won praise for its quality, despite its higherprices.

"Waitrose has benefited from increasing con-sumer appreciation of healthy eating and scoreshigher than any other retailer on quality," said MrGladding.

"It also wins top marks for store layout, withshoppers appreciating its modest store sizes, clearsignage and ease of navigation."

The most popular store was John Lewis, whichwas praised for value for money, range and well-informed staff.

John Lewis's rise from last year's number twoposition knocked Ikea off the number one spot tofifth place. Verdict said that Ikea's reputation hadbeen damaged by adverse publicity following astampede at the flagship store in Edmonton, northLondon, last February.

Mr Gladding, senior analyst at Verdict, said: "Ithink people have got a little bit fatigued by thecustomer experience at Ikea.

"The fact is that there is a lot of queuing andthe stores are heavily congested, particularly atweekends when people want to shop.

"Other retailers are also doing furniture betternow so Ikea isn't the only place to go."

The fashion store TK Maxx, which prides itselfon selling "labels for less" came in third, followedby Matalan, which has a loyal fan base despitegoing through a difficult year. Amazon was the

Supermarkets: Big but not Besthighest rated online store, coming inat number six - up from 14 in lastyear's survey.

Marks & Spencer's attempts torevive its fortunes appear to havebeen only partly successful.

The fashion, home and food storewas ranked 31st - a similar position tothe last few years.

Boots came in at 15, WH Smithwas ranked 34th and Debenhamswas the 37th most popular store.

Plans to allow stores to stay openlonger on Sundays are unlikely todamage corner shops, according to astudy commissioned by pro-Sundaytrading campaigners.

A report by Verdict, on behalf ofthe lobby group Deregulate, said thatsmall independent stores had nothing

to fear from relaxation of the 1994Sunday trading

laws. Under the existing law, moststores can only open for six hours ona Sunday. However, the Departmentof Trade and Industry is consideringextending that limit by three hours.

The report said the biggest threatto local independents was not relax-ation of the Sunday trading laws, butthe continued competition from bigsupermarkets opening smaller store inthe high street.

Neil Saunders, of Verdict, said:"There may be a case to make thatthe supermarket multiples, throughtheir entry into local markets, areincreasing the pressure on small play-ers.

(C) The Telegraph Group London 2006

The RSPB estimates that by 2010 the ring-necked parakeets population willapproach 50,000