Beacon of light

D J Wimalasurendra, the electrical engineer who pioneered the Laxapana hydro electricity project is remembered on his 57th death anniversary

Stanley E Abeynayake

The 57th death anniversary of the pioneer Sri Lankan electrical engineer D J Wimalasurendra falls on August 10.

Some decades ago Wimalasurendra was a household name in our country. All educated citizens used to refer to him as “the wonderful man who turned water into electricity.”

D J Wimalasurendra

Devapura Jayasena Wimalasurendra was born on September 17, 1874 at Muhendiramwatte, Galwadugoda, Galle. His father was Don Juan Devapura Wimalasurendra and the mother was Dona Christina Jayasinghe.

His father amassed a fortune by dint of hard work.

He was a master craftsman cum designer in jewellery, ivory decorations, wood carving and turtle shell ornaments. In addition, he was the proprietor of an industrial enterprise in Colombo.

The British Governor of that period Arthur Gordan was highly impressed by his aesthetic designing prowess.

He got a seal for the Government designed and manufactured by him. Through him the Governor also got his initials engraved on a diamond.

His eye for aesthetic beauty and skill as an excellent craftsman spread throughout the length and breadth of the island.

Having heard of his highly talented skills,

Queen Victoria at that time the British Empress invited him to her Windsor Palace, London and got her initials engraved on her ring. Satisfied with his talent he was conferred with a local honour ‘Muhandiramship.’

In 1881, Mudaliyar Wimalasurendra shifted to Maradana, Colombo with his family.

He got his son D J admitted to Ananda College, the premier Buddhist College in our country.

Genius

From the very beginning of his schooling at Ananda he displayed his brilliance in studies.

When he was in the Seventh Standard, he was adjudged the diligent student in the class and was fortunate to win prizes at the college prize giving by Colonel Henry Steele Olcott.

Wimalasurendra got through the Cambridge Senior and later passed the London Matriculation Examination, the first Anandian to pass that examination held by the London University.

From the very beginning be had an aptitude for science and mathematics.

He excelled in pure and applied Mathematics, English, Sinhala, German, History, Geography, Physical Science, Natural Science, Buddhism and Art. He won the admiration of the principal D B (later Sir Baron) Jayatilleke. For studies in engineering he joined the Technical College, Maradana, Colombo in 1893.

He was also an engineering assistant at the Government Factory, Kolannawa. After obtaining the Diploma in Civil Engineering from the Technical College, young Wimalasurendra joined Government Service, first as a foreman and was soon promoted as Works Inspector.

Beginning a new chapter

Proceeding to India, he sat for the AMICE examination which was held in India and obtained associate membership of the Institution of Civil and Electrical Engineers, London.

He was a professionally qualified engineer.

In 1898, he got an appointment as a senior engineer in the Public Works Department.

After three years he was stationed at Diyatalawa.

He was enlisted with the railway extensions from Bandarawela to Badulla. Demodara railway station which he designed is a testimony to his marvellous engineering designing.

According to his plans, he constructed in such a manner that the railway track was shortened by a distance of three and half miles.

From Diyatalawa he was transferred to Galle, his hometown as District Engineer. Improvements to the Galle harbour and that provincial capital’s water supply scheme, Hirimbura were master-minded by him as his services to Galle. From these he was transferred to Udapussellawa near Nuwara Eliya.

Electrical Engineer

When the Government Electrical Undertakings Department was established in 1927, he was appointed the Chief Engineer and Deputy Director of that Department. For further training in electrical engineering he proceeded to join the world renowned Faraday Institute in London.

He obtained the diploma in Electrical Engineering in 1919.

He was also appointed the President of the members of that institute.

The Government granted him study leave and his objective was to get the technical know-how to initiate the Laxapana electricity supply project - his brainchild.

Observations

Fate decreed a brilliant civil and electrical engineer Wimalasurendra be immortalized from the fact that it was he who first conceived the possibility of harnessing the water of the twin rivers - the Kehelgamu Oya and the Maskeliya Oya to develop hydro-electric power to inaugurate the industrial era of the country. He is also immortalized as the giver of electric light to our country.

This dream was realized when as an assistant engineer he was sent by his white colonial superiors in search of gold and other valuable minerals in the Nuwara Eliya and Avissawella areas accompanied by a Boer (South African) prisoner at that time kept in custody by the British in our country.

That year was 1901.

The story goes that one day the Boer national on their outings in the Kelani Valley pointed out to him the Laxapana waterfalls.

That set him thinking as to why that water was allowed to go waste and was not harnessed for the use of man and prosperity of our motherland.

Engineer Wimalasurendra was a patriot and king Parakramabahu, the great’s saying that “not a drop of water should be allowed to go to the sea without making use of it” was uppermost in his mind.

His suggestions of exploiting hydro-power was anathema to the colonial masters of the day. The British Raj simply pooh-poohed his ideas and held it up in ridicule or contempt as a foolish man’s plan. However, previously an English electrical engineer R B Rhilands analyzed at the potential of waterfalls in the hill country to generate electric supply. The colonial government was more concerned with their search for gold and other minerals.

Our patriotic engineer realized that the two principal methods of producing electricity in bulk are either the use of steam power or water power. He preferred the latter for our country lacks coal or oil. In 1918 he made a keynote address to the Ceylon Engineering Association on the Economical of Power utilization in Sri Lanka.

Projects

Engineer D J Wimalasurendra revealed as early as 1918 that his investigations indicated the following principal sources of water power in this country.

The Laxapana proposed scheme was approved in 1924 by the Legislative Council. For his plans on the Laxapana project he was ably supported by Prominent educated gentlemen such as Sir James Pieris, Dr. Marcus Fernando, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam and D R Wijewardene of Lake House fame.

In 1928 as the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department he was responsible for establishing the Kolonnawa Power House. It was renamed “Stanley Power House” after the Governor Sir Herbert Stanley an expert English electrical engineer one Aitkitley highly commended him for his skills in designing that power house.

Wimalasurendra placed his talents entirely at the service of the country. But it was only in 1950, after this country was given a larger measure of political freedom, that it was possible for the first of the hydro-electric schemes, the brainchild of Eng. D J Wimalasurendra to be established at Norton Bridge - “Vidulipura”.

To achieve same, Agriculture Minister D S Senanayake and Public Works Minister Sir John Kotelawela took the initiative politically.

State Counsellor

He retired in 1929 at the age of 55 after completing 30 years of public service in the engineering field.

He contested the Ratnapura electorate at the first State Council elections in 1931 and was returned as the MSC (Member State Council), Ratnapura. In the State Council he persisted in implementing the Laxapana hydro-electric scheme projected by him. He insisted on this till 1935. By 1948, it bore fruit when the first phase was completed. The turbine began revolving.

He advocated the electrification of our train service and the use of solar power in the future. Thus he saw the potential of sun light. Being a devout Buddhist he and his family members were responsible for erecting the pinnacle of the Ruwanweli Seya in Anuradhapura.

Well-versed in Pali and German, he translated books on Buddhism to German. He appeared to be an introvert but was an extrovert. He first married Maraya Louvie de Silva, daughter of D S de Silva of Galle. She died untimely and he married Miss Milicent.

Wimalasurendra, the excellent unsurpassed Engineer passed away on August 10, 1953 at the age of 79. The Philatelic Bureau issued a postage stamp in 1975 in commemoration of his services. It could be justifiably pointed out that his place of birth Galwadugoda in Galle should be named Wimalasurendrapura. Many hydro-electric power generating centres too could be quite rightly named after him - a genius rarely born in any country at any time.