Novel approach in Speaker’s biography

The book Hambanthota Wathura (Water of Hambanthota) written by former Deputy Inspector General of Police Punya de Silva on the biography of the Speaker, Chamal Rajapaksa and his lifetime achievements for national development will be launched on October 30 at the BMICH at a function presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The book has been published by the D.A. Rajapaksa Foundation. The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. W.K. Hirimburegama, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colombo.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa

Hambanthota Wathura has been written taking a new approach towards the art of writing biographies. Along with the political career of Chamal Rajapaksa, a detailed description of the quiet and continuous national service rendered by him throughout 25 years in Parliament is included in it.

Chamal Rajapaksa has held a number of positions such as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Lands, Deputy Minister of Ports and Southern Province Development, Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries, Minister of Agriculture Development, Minister of Irrigation and Water Management and Minister of Ports and Aviation Services.

On April 22, 2010 he was unanimously elected Speaker of the seventh Parliament. Chamal Rajapaksa took the lead to initiate and implement the export village concept and irrigation projects such as the Maw-ara, Weheragala, Uma Uoya, Deduru Oya, Kekiriobada, Rambkenoya and Yan Oya especially to alleviate poverty of the people of the Hambantota District and strengthen the economy.

As a person who is sensitive to the sufferings of the rural folk and as someone hailing from a village, he has always given priority in his political career to fulfil the needs of the people in the villages. He is a mature leader who launched thousands of development initiatives in Ruhuna as well as in other areas for their advancement. The Hambanthota District Hospital, New Nursing Training College, New Courts Complex, Magampura Agri Technical and Rural Science Institute, Suchi National College, Hambanthota Fisheries Harbour and Bata Atha Chamal Rajapaksa Agri Research Institute are prominent development work carried out under his guidance.

The Mini Coconut Triangle by initiating the Sub Institute for Coconut Research in Middeniya, starting the rubber sapling nursery and the cultivation of rubber, starting the nursery for small export crop plants are also among them.

He has rendered a great service for the furtherance of Buddhism and has carried out a great deal of work to complete the work of the Lanka temple and the pilgrims’ rest in Nepal as the Chairman of the Lumbini Trust Board. His humble nature and the services he has rendered so silently set an example to the aspiring young politicians. Recently, the Government has renamed the Maw Ara reservoir as the Chamal Rajapaksa Reservoir in view of the great service rendered by him to develop of irrigation schemes in the country.

Information on the Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambanthota and Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala too are specially included in the book.The volume compiled with some very rare photographs of the family from D.A. Rajapaksa, the father of Chamal Rajapaksa to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other siblings including current photographs, consists of almost 400 pages.