The 50 th commemoration of anti-imperialist freedom fighter and national hero Philip Gunawardena was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI), Colombo on March 29 under the patronage of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana and Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa. A special lecture on the late Philip Gunawardena was delivered by retired senior irrigation engineer Anton Nanayakkara.
Philip Gunawardena was the first to come up with the idea of a Kelani Valley Multipurpose Development Scheme that will bring about a new national economic and social awakening in Sri Lanka, in the country’s most populous area, center of the country’s main socio-economic and political activity, and an area known for an advanced civilisation throughout world history.
On November 16, 1937, Philip Gunawardena, member for Avissawella, presented a special motion to the State Council of Ceylon proposing a multi-purpose development program for the Kelani River flood management and Kelani Valley Development.
His commitment to this development project, which should be given high priority, and critically important to Colombo, Gampaha, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and many other districts was a consideration for the future. Philip Gunawardena was the first to present a proposal to the country on the flood control and multipurpose development scheme of the Kelani River.
The multi-purpose project in the Kelani Valley should have been the central development project in the country since then.
Anton Nanayakkara, irrigation engineer in this professional field, has been compiling report after report on this subject from 1984 until his appointment as the Senior Deputy Director of Irrigation in the Department of Irrigation.
In 2008, some initiatives were taken with the former Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply Dinesh Gunawardena. It was then presented to UDA, SLLRDC and all Local Government Authorities along the Kelani River. However, they were hampered by changes to the Ministry.
This report is presented to create a wider understanding that the ideas proposed by Philip Gunawardena pertaining to the Kelani Valley Multipurpose Development Scheme that can bring about a new national economic and social revival across districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and many more is valuable to the country today than ever before.