From Pera’ in this urbanisation era

Annual Seminar of the Civil Engineering Society, University of Peradeniya – 2013 :

Tharindu Weerasinghe

Highlights of the event

The annual seminar, organised by the Civil Engineering Society (CES), University of Peradeniya (for 2013) under the patronage of industrial experts, researchers and resource persons was successfully held recently at the EOE Pereira theatre, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya with the exclusive financial assistance of Ceylon Steel Corporation LTD.

This year, the seminar was organised under the theme of “The Challenges of Urban Development Sri Lankan Perspectives,”one of the demanding multidisciplinary concepts where civil engineers have to play a vital role.

The objective of the seminar was to strengthen the knowledge of participants on sustainable practices in all areas of development of urban infrastructures within the Sri Lankan setup while making them sense on novel trends, transcending challenges and ways of overcoming.

In-order to accomplish the objective, various resource persons representing several fields of urban planning and development, had been invited to share their knowledge, experience and engineering contributions with grooming civil engineering undergraduates.

The seminar commenced with a traditional touch, lighting the oil lamp by participated dignitaries.Head, Department of Civil Engineering, faculty of engineering, University of Peradeniya,Dr. A L M Mauroof, Dean, faculty of Engineering University of Peradeniya,Prof. Leelananda Rajapakshe and President, Civil Engineering Society,Dr. Shameen Jinadasa addressed the gathering.

The seminar was conducted in three sessions.

* Session 1- “Urban
Construction and Planning”
Session Chair:Prof. K P P Pathirana
Presenters:

* Eng K.L.S Sahabandu
(General Manager, Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau)
-Keynote Address -”The Challenges of Urban Development- Sri Lankan
Perspectives”

* Eng. Janaka Kurakulasooriya
(Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defense and Urban Development)
-”Urban Planning and Urban Regeneration”
At the end of the first session, the sponsor’s message was delivered by Nimal Yapa representing the Ceylon Steel Corporation Ltd.

* Session 2- “Urban
Infrastructure Systems”
Session Chair: Prof. S B Weerakoon
Presenters:

* Eng. P H SarathGamini
(Project Director of Greater Kandy Water Supply Project National water supply and Drainage board)
- “Challenges in the Water Sector and Wastewater Sector”

* Dr. I M S Sathyaprasad
(Senior lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya)
-”Challenges in Urban
Development: Providing Sustainable Urban Transport”

* Dr. MilindaPathiraja
(Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa)
- “In-Between Planning,
Architecture and Ad-hoc Growth:
TheUnruly Transformation of Arterial Towns”

* Session 3- “Urban Disaster Management”
Session Chair: Prof. P B R Dissanayake
Presenters: * Dr. G G A Godaliyadda
(Engineering Consultant-Flood and Drainage mitigation, Metro Colombo Urban development project)
-”Metro Colombo Urban Development Project”

* Anoja Senewirathne
(Deputy Director- Mitigation, Research and development Division, Disaster Management Center)
-”Disaster Management in Urban Environment of Sri Lanka”

After having concluded the three sessions, a panel discussion was conducted by Dr. G B B Herath, Dr. U I Dissanayake, and Dr. A G H J Edirisinghe, with the contribution of all guest speakers. Active participation of the audience highlighted the keen interest and the curiosity of the participant to extract novel knowledge from the resource persons.

Menaka Revel, the Vice President of the Civil Engineering Society, proposed the vote of thank, as the conclusion remarks of yet another successful forum of sharing knowledge and experience over a challenging engineering interference, with the tiring effort of CES and department of civil engineering, Peradeniya.