Fountain in a parched land
Dharman Wickremaratne
The 69th birth anniversary of senior politician and Speaker Chamal
Rajapaksa fell yesterday, October 30. In this connection a series of
celebrations will be held in the Hambantota District presided over by
Chamal Rajapaksa from November 1 to 15, under the theme ‘On your behalf
I did my duty.’ This article is to mark the occasion. The writer has
known Chamal Rajapaksa closely for nearly 30 years
Chamal Rajapaksa was born on October 30, 1942. It was Poet
Panditharatna Amarasena of Beligalle who named the baby, Chamal. He
entered ‘Little Flower’ Convent in Tangalla at the age of three and
stayed there until he was taken to the convent at Matara. From a very
young age he was trained to attend to his personal needs in an orderly
manner, without depending on others. In 1948, he entered the primary
class at Richmond College, Galle. Having decided to strengthen his
Buddhist upbringing in the village, Chamal’s father admitted him to a
Dhamma School in Galketiya, Galle. It helped him to get a good grasp of
Buddhism, Buddhist ethics and thereby improve his moral stature.
Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa |
Chamal Rajapaksa’s father D. A. Rajapaksa was a one-time Minister of
Agriculture, Lands and also Deputy Speaker. Mother was Dandina
Samarasinghe Dissanayake. Six of their nine children are sons - Chamal,
Mahinda, Chandra, Gotabhaya, Basil and Dudley. The three daughters are
Jayanthi Hettiarachchi, Preethi Chandradasa and Gandhini Ranawaka. The
Rajapaksa family enjoys the highest position among Sri Lanka’s 18
political families the world has recognized. Chamal’s paternal uncle was
D.M. Rajapaksa who represented Hambantota in the State Council in 1936.
It is the villagers of Giruwapattuwa who gave moral strength to the
Rajapaksas then as now.
Political leaders
From a very young age he was fortunate to be in the company of
political leaders. Among them were D.S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake,
Sir John Kotalawala and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. He gave straight answers
to their questions. Since the time he was a child he helped his father
D.A. Rajapaksa in his election campaigns. Chamal used to place his hand
on pieces of paper and draw around it with a piece of charcoal to get
the image of the hand which was his father’s election symbol. Chamal saw
how his father conducted the election campaign. The experience he gained
thereby was a guideline for his political future.
While continuing his studies at Richmond College he had the
opportunity of cutting the second sod of soil after the then Prime
Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike cut the first sod for the construction of
the Chandrika Wewa to develop the South Bank of the Walawe River.
This gave him a vision of bringing prosperity to the rural sector
through agricultural development.
Political career
As a Sub Inspector of Police Chamal observed the law to the letter
and did not get involved in politics while in Police service. After the
UNP came to power in 1977 he also worked for Minister Lalith
Athulathmudali. The latter ignored the many complaints made against
Chamal by UNP supporters, since the minister knew his honesty and
integrity.
Chamal entered active politics by becoming a contestant in the
Mulkirigala by-election in 1985. The election was held on September 12
that year and UNP thugs engaged in robbing votes, causing Chamal to lose
the election by 1,329 votes. The UNP candidate got 26,037 votes while
Chamal received 24,708 votes. In fact the thousands of UNP hoodlums
having come from Colombo hijacked the entire election. But it was a good
experience for Chamal in his future political career and in 1989 he
became MP for Hambantota. His knowledge in agriculture earned him the
respect of even Opposition politicians. President R. Premadasa
appreciated Chamal’s service. But the then government failed to meet the
needs of the people of Hambantota. The wastage and corruption greatly
depressed Chamal.
Irrigation projects
On August 16, 1994 the United People’s Freedom Alliance came to power
ending a 17-year UNP rule. Although Chamal was not appointed to any
position in the new government he actively participated in a programme
to develop Hambantota. The main problem of the people of Hambantota was
water. The problem was there since the days of his father. Chamal had a
strong desire to solve the problem since he deeply felt the suffering of
the farmers there. Since Chamal already had a plan in mind he decided to
implement it at the first opportunity. It was the Mauara water supply
scheme.
Chamal still recalls with pleasure how he with the help of his friend
William of Walasmulla harvested a paddy land after building a dam at
Andupelena across the Urubokka Oya.
A number of dams and tanks throughout the district were repaired
parallel to the launching of the Mauara project with the help of local
engineers. In addition, the construction of a canal to divert the water
from the Lunugam Vehera reservoir to Ikkapallama, repairing of nine
tanks including Bogamara, Boondala, Udamalala, Katuwewa, Hammanawa,
Palugaswewa, Attakkawa and Karambagahaara at a cost of Rs. 90 million
under the National Irrigation Reconstruction Project, developing the
Walawe left bank to develop 6,500 acres of land, reconstructing the
Liyanagastota Dam which had not been repaired for 115 years and
repairing altogether 60 odd ruined tanks throughout the district were
tasks successfully accomplished.
Funds received from Kuwait were utilized for the development work
associated with the Uruboku Oya and the Kiramba Oya.
Chamal took steps to introduce new agricultural techniques to farmers
by establishing an Agricultural Centre at Weligatta. All over the
district 5,000 commercial farms were established and six fishery
villages in Tissamaharama at a cost of over Rs.60 million.
Chamal Rajapaksa does not believe in temporary expenses. He knows
that such expenditure bring no real benefit. He sees far ahead and works
on a long-term plan. He provided the people of Tissamaharama with
avenues for self-employment by forming people’s export companies. Seeing
boxes made of Palmyra leaves in India he bought a few of them and
introduced them to the people of Hambantota. Today around 45,000 such
boxes are made in Hambantota bringing benefits to a large number of
people. After visiting vineyards in India he encouraged Hambantota
farmers to do the same. He allocated funds for the purpose from the
decentralized Budget in 1998. Today the venture is highly successful and
two groups of Sri Lankan farmers visit India annually for training in
this connection. These projects have made a major contribution in
strengthening the people’s economy.
National resources
He strongly believes that development should be based on national
resources. The major irrigation projects throughout the country clearly
reflect his efforts to develop the agricultural and irrigation sectors.
Supplying water to the Lunugam Vehera reservoir via Kirindi Oya, the
Hambantota Harbour, the Udamattala International Airport, the
Iranian-funded Uma Oya Project to boost the national grid, the Rambakum
Oya project in the East and the Deduru Oya project covering Wayamba
(North-Western Province) are examples of his dedication to the
development of the country. The last mentioned projects will go in a
longway in boosting the island’s agriculture and power generation.
A number of major development projects were launched following his
appointment as Ports and Aviation Minister in the previous government.
Humble politician
Among them the first stage of the accelerated Hambantota Harbour
project is expected to be completed by 2012. Work on the Colombo South,
Galle, Trincomalee and Oluvil Harbours are already underway.
These will undoubtedly lead to the realization of the people’s dream
of a new Sri Lanka. He is a politician who has identified the nation’s
real needs and truly understands the sentiments of the rural masses.
He is not only keen on national development but also on the need to
protect the environment and natural resources. A good example of this is
his decision to move the international airport project (which was
earlier scheduled to commence at Weerawila) to Udamattala in the
interests of agricultural needs.
Chamal Rajapaksa performs an immense service for social, economic
cultural and spiritual progress of the masses. He is grateful to the
humble villagers of Giruwapattuwa who spent their time and energy to
help him in his political career. As a humble politician and a giant of
Ruhuna he has dedicated his future too for the well-being of these
people. In the sandy plains of Hambantota he has been an oasis. There is
no doubt he will continue to bear his responsibility and perform his
duties to the best of his ability in the years to come.
(The
writer is an environmental journalist who could be reached at
[email protected]) |