Archives

N'Eliya mourns death of Central Province Chief Minister

From P. Rajaratnam in Nuwara Eliya

The Nuwara Eliya District mourned the death of W. M. Punchi Banda Dissanayake, Chief Minister of the Central Province, a senior Politician and a foremost fighter of the working class in the hill country.

The late Dissanayake who was born in Kotmale had close links with the Nuwara Eliya District. During which period he had an intimate and mutual understanding with all trade Union leaders, particularly the late S. Thondaman, Gamini Dissanayake and others.

Dissanayake who was a native of Gampola was educated at St. Joseph's College Gampola and St. Sylverster's College, Kandy. He was one of Sri Lanka's pioneer Labour Controllers presently known as Labour Officers.

He was a UNPer throughout and stood by the party in good times and bad times. He was a Member of Parliament for Gampola and lastly as Chief Minister of the Central Provincial Council, where he commanded the respect of all members.

Dissanayake was closely associated with Nuwara Eliya and never failed to attend any ceremony held there. His last official visit to Nuwara Eliya was when he opened the Annual Flower Show last April where he deplored the environmental hazards within the city.

He was a versatile figure and spoke both Sinhala and Tamil well. He was always proud to say that he hailed from Kotmale from where S. Thondaman Gamini Dissanayake and Ananda Dassanayake belonged to.

Dissanayake was a example to all politicians and never overdid his official functions and even never made use of his official residences and continued to live in his ancestral house in Gampola till his death.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager