CMC pays tribute to Prof. Osmond Jayaratne

Shirley Wijesinghe

COLOMBO: Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) councillors yesterday paid tribute to the late Prof. Osmond Jayaratne, a former member.

The meeting was held at the Town Hall chaired by Mayor Mohamed Imthiyas. The Members observed two minutes' silence responding to a proposal made by the Chair on paying respect to the late Prof. Jayaratne who served the CMC as a Member from May 1953 to December 1957.

Opposition Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara said Jayaratne was a rare personality in the Sri Lanka political arena and was a bright star in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He was the voice of the poor of Wellawatte and drew the attention of CMC to their grievances.

In his academic career, Jayaratne did not confine himself to playing the role of university lecturer but was also a lifetime friend of students. He pioneered the teaching of physics in Sinhala, even though he started his studies in English, he said.

Deputy Mayor S. Rajendran explaining why they decided to join the Sri Lanka Freedom Party said they have accepted the "Mahinda Chintanaya". Now we are the majority in the Council with 37 members, he said.