Letters to the Editor
View(s):H.C. P. Bell: Little recognition of man who did so much
Bell at Sigiriya
I was interested to read that Rev. Kenneth Bell has donated H.C. P. Bell’s Buddha statue to the Sri Dalada Maligawa. H.C.P. Bell, himself, has not received the recognition he deserves for his role in restoring the historic sites in Sri Lanka. Bell was appointed Archaeological Commissioner by Governor Gordon in 1890. During his tenure he explored the country and undertook extensive excavations and rediscovered and restored many of the historic sites in the island. He commenced working at Anuradhapura in 1890, Sigiriya in 1894 and Polonnaruwa in 1900. The sites were all cleared of jungle, restored, photographed and studied. He produced detailed and thorough annual reports of his excavations. The significance of what he found was compared with historic texts, particularly the Mahawamsa.
He recognised the exceptional historic, cultural and religious importance of the sites he excavated. In his 1907 report he described the statues at Gal Vihara as ‘possibly not rivalled throughout the continent of India’. He added: ‘The line of gigantic figures carved from grey rock which form their background, calm, immovable, majestic, amid the hush of the surrounding forest, gazing ever fixedly into space with the pensiveness of profound meditation, or wrapped in eternal slumber, must inspire in the thoughtful beholder wonder and admiration mingled with an instinctive sense of silent awe’.
After retiring in 1912 he continued to live in Sri Lanka and was still involved in the excavations in Polonnaruwa. He continued as Honorary Secretary of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society till 1914. He frequently published papers in the journal, the first in 1883 and the last in 1935. He co-edited a new journal Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register.
Bell’s exceptional contributions have enabled the Sri Lankan people to tour the historic sites and gaze with awe at the creative genius of their forefathers. A statue or a plaque in his honour should be placed in the vicinity of the ancient cities.
Dr R. P. Fernando Via email
Engineers must support President’s initiative to get projects moving
I have been reading with interest and admiration the importance given by the President to get power projects moving, including giving priority to local contractors for government projects.
I was privileged to be appointed the engineer in charge of the first three gas turbines to be installed in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. The company I then worked for, John Brown Engineering (JBE), appointed an American subcontractor to carry out the installation, much against my advice. I was advocating that we should appoint a local company but JBE senior management thought that I was talking up the local contractors being a Sri Lankan.
When the project commenced the American company failed to perform and we completed the project on time and within the budget with the help of contractors such as Samuels, Walkers and Nawaloka and specialist advisors such as Edwin Silva who I knew from his days at the Colombo Port Commission.
I also had one of the most talented electrical technicians working for me called D.C.Piyadasa (DC). We were waiting for Hawker Sidney Power Engineering (HSPE) personnel to come and install the transformers. They were delaying and on time completion was being compromised.
DC regularly used to come to me and say, “transformers mata hadanna puluwan”. My usual reply was “palayan yakko”. He was very persistent and eventually I gave him the go ahead to install with the warning “kaduwoth maranawa”.
He proceeded to install the transformers in double quick time and by the time the HSPE engineers arrived, the installation was complete and they couldn’t find any problems with it. As the engineer in charge I carried out the commissioning tests which were successful.
The President will get projects completed at a fraction of the costs adopting his policy of giving local contractors priority, so as engineers let’s get behind him to complete his journey.
Harith Kulasinghe Ja-Ela
Broken drain veritable death trap to pedestrians
When I was walking along Main Street on my way to the Red Mosque for my evening prayer I saw a young lady carrying a baby in her arms and accompanied by an elderly lady. The young mother suddenly almost fell as her leg had got stuck in a drain. It turned out that the cast iron drain cover had a gaping hole as it was sans a couple of strips.
This particular drain is located adjoining the pavement at the intersection of St. John’s Road and Main Street, Colombo.
The baby had a narrow escape – luckily another lady who was passing by took hold of the baby. The mother’s leg below the knee was soaked in drain water and covered with dirt.
This is a request to the CMC to replace this cast iron drain cover immediately to prevent further mishaps as the existing one is a death trap for pedestrians.
Mohamed Zahran Colombo 14
.Authorities turn blind eye to neglected public ground
The Moratuwa Soysapura ground which serves many who live in the adjoining flats is an eyesore due to its lack of regular maintenance.
During the rainy season, water stagnates here and there and the grass grows wild. The ground is leased for commercial activities such as carnivals or business promotional activities by the Municipal Council and the institutions that rent out the ground ply their lorries on the playground. The Municipal Council doesn’t seem to get the grass cut regularly either.
The walking track is also poorly maintained. Some people walk their dogs on it. Sometimes children cycle on it posing a risk to people who walk or jog on it. The drains around the walking path are seldom cleaned and serve as a breeding ground for mosquitos. Some people bring their dogs to the playground for defecation in the mornings. This is very unhealthy especially for children who play there.
If it is well maintained children and adults could use this important recreation area which would be a boon to the residents of Soysapura.
I hope the authorities will take note of this poorly maintained ground and turn it into a beautiful recreation area.
Concerned resident