'Surveyors play key role in country's development'

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

Surveyors play a key role in the country's development activities as the pioneers who step-in first to the sites. The Survey Department acts as the whip cracker. When dancers come people forget the whip crackers, said Land and Land development Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon.

He was speaking at the 212th anniversary commemoration of the Survey Department held yesterday at the Department auditorium. He said the surveyors' service is not much appreciated. "We cannot expect a better service without providing enough facilities for them. So the Land and Land Development Ministry has already taken measures to provide facilities for surveyors," said the minister.

He also said that more than 75 percent of court cases are related to land problems. So the surveyor has a very big responsibility to solve these problems. Land and Land Development Deputy Minister Siripala Gamlath said that Surveyors have been able to win the confidence of people because of the quality of their service. Everyone accept the maps which are created by surveyors.

Acting Surveyor General K. W. N. D. Karunaratne said that the Survey Department is the oldest government Department in Sri Lanka established on August 2 , 1800 during the British period. The first Sri Lankan surveyor was appointed in 1954. Since then 44 Surveyors General had served the Department.

"The Survey Department serves silently for the country's development activities. The department engaged on a wider range of surveying functions including cadastral surveys, engineering surveys, irrigation surveys, railway surveys, forest surveys, digital surveys, remote sensing, digital mapping, etc." he said. For the first time in the history of the Surveyor Department the official residence for the Surveyor General was opened yesterday.

Land and Land Development Ministry Secretary Asoka Peiris, Additional Surveyor General (Title Registration) K.Dayananda, Prof. J. B. Dissanayake, Former Surveyors General, Heads of the department, surveyors and many other distinguished people participated in the occasion.