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| Sunday, 6 March 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Forgotten heroes of post -tsunami reconstruction by Eng. B. R. O. Fernando, Past President, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Engineers are generally the unsung heroes and a forgotten lot because their achievements and accomplishments are not closely seen by the community at large. They do not display that close bond and relationship that exists between a doctor and a patient.
However, the engineers are remembered only when the utility services fail or are interrupted for even a short duration. They are then blamed for delays and countless other reasons for which they are not always responsible. The tsunami tidal wave brought with it havoc and destruction to the utilities. Power supply, water supply telecommunications and transport were affected in the Southern, Northern and Eastern Provinces. Our engineers who are all members of The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka worked hard to provide electricity, water supply and telecommunications facilities to the affected areas and to repair the damaged roads, bridges, railway tracks which also included clearing of the debris. It was not an easy task, but a Herculian task The Southern railway track was damaged from Kalutara to Matara at a distance of 95 km. Considering the adverse comments that were made by various sources about the Sri Lankan Railways during the past few years, repair of the railway track would have been only a dream if the work was completed even within one year. However the General Manager Railways Priyal de Silva, planned the re construction and was determined to do the entire job using local personnel only. The funds from the Treasury which is usually a bottleneck for maintenance work was not a problem after the 'tsunami'. Tender boards and the normal objections which are the delaying tactics of interested parties were not known. New bridges were installed and tracks near river embankments, which were in a pathetic state were redone and rebuilt to very high standards of construction and safety. This monumental task was completed within 57 days at a cost of Rs 400 million in a very professional manner. Sri Lankans should be grateful to these engineers from various government departments and corporations for their leadership and direction. They have proved their metal in undertaking such a gigantic and difficult task to an excellent conclusion in record time for the welfare of the commuters. We are also grateful to the department heads, technicians, supervisers, mechanics, electricians and workers from the Sri Lankan Railways and other corporations for a job well done and at record time. We hope the powers that be and the decision makers in the government will make a note of the talent available within our engineering community and not to rush to obtain the services of foreign consultants at a price our poor national economy cannot afford. The reconstruction of the Southern Railway Track in time should be an eye opener for the future. It should be noted that if funds are provided the work will be completed soon by our local personnel and thus foreign consultants should be called in only if our local personnel cannot undertake the relevant assignment. I quote below extracts from the address I delivered as president of the Institution at the inauguration of the 94th Annual Sessions of The Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka on October 18, 2002 with reference to engineers. "The word 'engine' and 'ingenius' are derived from the same latin root 'ingeneare' which means to create engineers who belong to that sector classified as 'services' in the national economy. Engineering has been and still is the forerunner for the development and progress of any country. But for engineering where will you and I be today. To be more precise how can we boast of our ancient civilization. We should never forget that we are key people in building and sustaining civilization. Engineers are creators, designers, fashioners and builders. Our ancestors of pre historic age were the great designers and builders, who used indigenous methods to fashion mother earth. They did not have the modern methods of today such as the use of computer software programming. But they did wonders. You will agree with me when I state that all engineers have a key role to play in the development of the infrastructure in any country. The key role is not limited to power and energy, water supply, transportation or the environment. The role of an engineer extends to housing, railways, roads, highways and bridges, irrigation, telecommunications, airports and barbours, information technology and scores of other subsections therein. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Engineers work as a team to help the community. Hence as long as there is
an uninterrupted power supply water supply telecommunication networks,
transport services, the community do not appreciate the work of engineers.
