Opinion
Appreciation: Eng. S. A. Karunaratne
Singappuli Arachchige Karunaratne had his school education at the St. John Bosco College in Hanwella and Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya. He was among the top performers at the GCE (Ordinary Level) examination of 1956; and graduated with a BSc Engineering degree from the Department of Civil Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering in the Peradeniya Campus of the University of Ceylon in 1966. Since graduating from Peradeniya, Eng. S.A. Karunaratne worked for 55 years in structural engineering, around 10 of those overseas. He died in harness, while being the Managing Director of Stems Consultants (Pvt) Ltd.
Like many other eminent structural engineers of his vintage, Karunaratne started his professional life at the State Engineering Corporation (SEC), coming under the influence of the legendary Dr A.N.S. Kulasinghe. After this he had a spell of around 10 years overseas, first in Nigeria, and later in Brunei and Oman too. However, the bulk of his practice was at Stems Consultants, a firm that he helped to set up with his SEC colleagues Dr B.M.A. Balasooriya and Eng. Ananda Senarath. He was Managing Director of the firm since the untimely demise of the former in 1994, until his own demise on the last day of the year 2022.
Stems at its inception was unique in that it was a specialist structural engineering practice. It continues to be special also in the training it imparts to young recruits and even undergraduate trainees, in addition to the quality of the work it produces. Eng. Karunaratne is widely known to have contributed directly and immensely to the afore-mentioned training. Undergraduate trainees were required to meet him weekly, and report to him not only on what they had learnt at their various construction sites, but also on what they had read in the daily newspapers! He was in the business of producing engineers with rounded personalities, not least of which involved the instilling in his young charges a sense of honesty and integrity. Graduate engineers were so well trained at Stems that some of them developed the confidence to start their own consulting firms.
Some of the major projects he was directly involved in at Stems are the Tri-Zen High Rise Development Project with 3 towers over 50 storeys, the ‘On 320’ at Union Place, Colombo with 3 towers of 39 storeys, the 39 storey Empire Residencies at Braybrooke Place, the 22 Storey Secretariat Building for Personnel Identification at Battaramulla, the 17 storey Ceylinco Seylan Towers at Colombo 3, the 14 storey Administrative Building for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority at Hambantota, the Head office for the National Development Bank at Nawam Mawatha, and Phase II of the Katunayake International Airport Project in collaboration with Japan Airport Consultants, a feature of which is a novel roof design.
Perhaps greater even than his contribution through Stems has been Eng. Karunaratne’s contributions to structural engineering through learned society and professional association activities. He was one of the few Sri Lankan Fellows (since 1990) of the Institution of Structural Engineers, U.K. and an active Fellow (also since 1990) of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL). He was also a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, U.K. since 1970. He was a regular member of examination panels for the Charter Examination of the IESL. He made significant contributions through the Institute for Construction Training & Development (ICTAD) in the committee for drafting the Construction Industry Bill, and in the panel for the Construction Excellence Awards. He served on and chaired many of the code drafting panels for the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, making notable contributions in developing Sri Lankan Annexes for the globally established Eurocodes.
His greatest contributions were however, through the Society of Structural Engineers, Sri Lanka (SSESL), of which he was a founder member in 1990. He was wholeheartedly involved in the Society, especially as President from 2004 to 2008, significantly raising the profile of the profession in the process. He co-authored an SSESL publication titled Reinforced Concrete Detailing to Mitigate Seismic Effects and spearheaded the introduction of seismic design and detailing to Sri Lankan practice. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society in 2009.
Eng. Karunaratne also engaged with academic institutions, especially at the Universities of Moratuwa and Peradeniya, serving on their Industry Consultative Boards. He was much sought after by these institutions for such engagement, since he always had constructive suggestions. He was not averse to helping even emerging institutions such as the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), in spite of heading a busy consulting practice. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Moratuwa Master’s programme in Structural Engineering. Over and above all this, he obtained the specialist services of engineering academics in his practice, thus giving them opportunities for industrial experience. Many of them were much younger than him, but he always treated them with deference and respect.
On the other hand, Eng. Karunaratne was outspoken when defending the interests of the various groups he belonged to, most of which needed a voice to plead their causes. He looked after the interests of private sector consultancies vis a vis their much larger state sector counterparts. He canvassed for a better fee structure for structural engineers vis a vis the much better positioned architects. But he was a spokesman for the entire construction industry as well; and was recognized by all relevant parties as a leader in their common cause. Such recognition came probably because he did not hesitate to speak truth to power. He once told an over-enthusiastic Head of State that a piling project could not be completed on time – while all the engineers at the meeting knew this, only SA Karu as he was affectionately known, had the guts to articulate it.
Karu’s natural flair for the aesthetics of structures may well have originated from his gift for drawing and painting, for which he won many prizes in school, and also a poster competition for the yearly calendar of the then Shell Company. He was also highly commended, at the Peradeniya Art Circle, for a portrait of Professor M.P. Ranaweera, another SSESL Honourary Fellow and Peradeniya’s most recognised structural engineering academic.
Eng. Karunaratne is survived by his wife for 53 years Manrl and his children – Dushyantha, originally a pilot but now a successful restaurenteur in the U.S., and Missara, herself an architect married to a Moratuwa University civil engineering graduate and domiciled in Canada. We extend our condolences to them, and to his wider family at Stems.
As Managing Director of one of the earliest structural engineering practices, Honorary Fellow of the Society of Structural Engineers (and President for five consecutive years), and elder statesman for the entire construction industry, Eng. S.A. Karunaratne came to be known as the face of Sri Lankan structural engineering. Although his would be a difficult act to follow, he has now passed his mantle on to others, who will no doubt strive to continue his commitment to excellence, while staying true to the priorities he held and the values he lived by.
Emeritus Professor Priyan Dias
On behalf of the Executive Committee of the Society of Structural Engineers, Sri Lanka.
The winds are a-changing in civil aviation and at SriLankan Airlines. Our national airline is now under the Ministry of Finance, directly under the control of the President, instead of the Ministry of Aviation. We have to wait and see whether it will improve matters. It will certainly carry a few possible risks and pitfalls. Some say that the situation in SriLankan Airlines cannot fall any lower.
These risks must be properly managed and mitigated, because in civil aviation there is always a fine balance between safety and profitability.
Below are views of some experts on possible risks, with which I tend to agree.
Risk No 1. Financial Prioritisation over Operational Concerns/Focus on Profitability (i.e. the bottom line only): The Ministry of Finance may prioritise financial performance, cost-cutting measures, and profitability over operational concerns, safety, or customer service, which are typically managed by the Ministry of Aviation.
Short-Term Financial Goals
: Decisions might be driven by short-term financial results (e.g. quarterly profits) rather than long-term sustainability, growth, or innovation in aviation. Cutting corners purely for economic benefit costs lives. The DC-10 accident in Chicago in 1979 and the recent Boeing 737 MAX accidents come to mind,
Risk No 2. Increased Focus on Budget Management/Public Funding and Subsidies: The airline may be more heavily scrutinised for its financial efficiency, with increased pressure to effectively manage subsidies, loans, or public funds.
Budget Constraints
: In times of financial strain, the Ministry of Finance might push for austerity measures, potentially affecting fleet maintenance, infrastructure upgrades, or employee welfare.
Risk No 3. Reduced Focus on Regulatory Oversight: Operational Oversight: The Ministry of Aviation typically ensures regulatory compliance, safety standards, air traffic management, and aviation policy. Under the Ministry of Finance, these may be deprioritised, potentially affecting overall safety and operational efficiency.
(Arguably, Sri Lankan Airlines, in common with its predecessors Air Lanka and Air Ceylon, has the best air safety record in the world.)
Policy Alignment
: The airline may have less direct input into the development of aviation-specific policies, such as airspace management, environmental impact, or consumer protection laws.
Note 1: The last aviation policy was passed by the Sri Lankan Parliament in 2017.
Note 2: The product Sri Lankan Airlines is meant to deliver is “Safe and On Time”. The airline’s priorities operationally are safety first, passenger comfort second, schedule third and profitability last, when working in real time.
Risk No 4. Potential for Privatisation or Market Liberalisation/Privatisation Push: When the push comes to a shove, the Ministry of Finance may pursue privatisation or public-private partnerships to reduce the government’s financial burden, potentially leading to less public control over airline operations.
Market Competitiveness:
Financially driven decisions might encourage liberalisation or deregulation in an effort to promote competition, which could lead to lower fares but potentially reduced service quality and compromising of air safety.
Risk No 5. Risk to National Interest Goals/National Carrier Strategy: Airlines often serve strategic national interests (e.g. connecting remote regions, supporting tourism, or facilitating diplomatic efforts). The Ministry of Finance might be less focused on these broader geopolitical objectives, potentially leading to reduced emphasis on these goals.
National Security
: Certain aviation assets and services may be closely tied to national security interests. The Ministry of Finance may not prioritise this aspect in the same way the Ministry of Aviation would.
Note: One example is the Talangama Transmitters site formerly owned by the Ceylon Civil Aviation Department, situated a mere 4.4 nautical miles from the runway end on final approach to Colombo International Airport – Ratmalana, being acquired by the military and now classified as a ‘no fly zone’, thus compromising air safety. When millions were invested in Akuregoda, the Civil Aviation Authority Sri Lanka (CAASL) remained silent anyway!
Risk No 6. Impact on Labour and Workforce Concerns/Labour Relations: The focus of the Ministry of Finance on financial performance might lead to cost-cutting measures that could negatively affect employees, such as layoffs, wage reductions, or reduced benefits, leading to possible labour unrest.
Staffing Efficiency
: While the Ministry of Aviation might focus on maintaining a skilled workforce for safe operations, the Ministry of Finance may see staffing as an area for financial optimisation, potentially impacting operational readiness.
Risk No 7. Impact on Innovation and Environmental Goals/Technology and Sustainability: The Ministry of Finance might be tempted to prioritise immediate financial returns over long-term investments in sustainability, such as the development of greener technologies or new aircraft, potentially delaying efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the airline.
Incentive for Innovation
: A more finance-oriented leadership could discourage investment in innovation, focusing on minimising costs rather than exploring advancements in aviation technology, customer experience, or safety enhancements.
In summary, moving an airline to oversight by the Ministry of Finance could lead to a stronger emphasis on financial sustainability and cost management, but it may also reduce attention to safety, innovation, and long-term strategic goals associated with the aviation sector.
Being forewarned is forearmed … or is it?
Capt. G.A. Fernando
MBA (UK)
gafplane@sltnet.lk
Retired Airline Pilot.
President UL Club.
Immediate past President, Aircraft Owners’ and Operators’ Association. (AOAOA)
Representative for ‘Aviation’ in the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA)
Former Member Air Accident/ Incident Investigation Team CAASL
Former Facilitator in Crew Resource Management (CRM) SIA
RCyAF/SLAF, Air Ceylon, Air Lanka, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines
Apropos Dr. Geewananda Gunawardena’s (GG) excellent article titled “Agnotology and Ethnic Relations” (The Island – 04,11.2024) I would like to say that his timely attempt to show that differences and conflicts, based on ethnicity, has no relevance in today’s world, is laudable to say the least. Further his view that veneration of the elite and rulers must stop is also praise-worthy and one can’t agree more with him. The fact that these two phenomena, racism and adulation of the elite, have plagued the country and brought us to the present sad straits cannot be overemphasized. However, I have to make a few observations of dissent that wouldn’t in any way take anything away from what he has said, purely for academic and scientific reasons and with no racial connotations whatsoever.
His contention is that there are no genetic differences between Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils as shown in a study he quotes as “Ranaweera, 2014” which is based on a mitochondrial DNA analysis. This study may not have found any difference for there may not be such difference in mitochondrial DNA of Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils. However, a different test on some other aspect of genetics may find a difference. A more recent study by three Sri Lankan researchers has reported a difference which they consider as evidence that support the theory of ancient linguistic origin of Sri Lankan ethnicities — Indo-Aryan origin of Sinhalese and Dravidian origin of Tamil populations (KLN Perera, Gayani Galhena & Gaya Ranawake, June 2021). This study is titled “X-chromosomal STR based genetic polymorphisms and demographic history of Sri Lankan ethnicities and their relationship with global populations”. Here STR stands for Short Tandem Repeat which is a DNA sequence where a short sequence of nucleotides is repeated multiple times in a row. STRs are found throughout the genome and are characterized by their length polymorphism, meaning the number of repeated sequences varies between individuals. I do not claim that this method is superior to mitochondrial DNA analysis that GG has mentioned. What I want to emphasise is that it is unnecessary to find how close ethnic groups are related if the intention is to promote ethnic harmony, but for academic purposes and historical interest certainly by all means it must be done. Suffice it to say that we are all humans and have the same origin in East Africa and therefore must get on harmoniously despite ethnic differences. Because whether we like it or not there are ethnic differences between the ethnic groups in Sri Lanka and conflicts are more common between closely related groups than distant groups. We must look for other means of bringing peace and cordiality among communities.
Ethnicity is a social heritage and may be based on, not genes, but one or more of the following characteristics; language, religion and geographic location. Different ethnic groups may have very similar genomes. Similarly, there may be genetic differences within the same ethnic group. For example, genetic composition of Israelis and Palestinians are very much similar, dating back to the Stone Age, but today they are arch enemies. No useful purpose would be served by harping on their common ancestry except perhaps for academic interest.
As GG correctly mentions it is the politicians who exploit these differences to gain popularity among their communities and remain in political power. Such politicians should be exposed and weeded out of the political arena. This process has already started if one is to go by the outcome of the recently concluded general election. One hopes this was not a “flash in the pan” and one-off political phenomenon but a more permanent change in the attitude of voters of all communities. If it means that the Sri Lankan voter has matured it bodes well for future communal harmony and development of the nation.
N.A.DE S. AMARATUNGA
Rienzie Fernando was an extraordinary engineer of repute, a rare one, who took risks and challenges with ease. He was daring and perfect—a visionary and missionary. He was committed to building up young talent in engineering.
Many professors taught him. He was not a professor but he was qualified to teach many on the practice of engineering.
He was my group mate, my training mate and my tutor, when it came to the interpretation of very complex electrical theory.
As for his desire for consultancy, the seed was sown by the late Eng. Amarasingham of Walker and Greg, where we both got the first exposure to what electrical engineering is in practice.
It was just a few days ago we had a chat about stability issues in the grid with the irregularities of solar power generation. He shared with me a study he had done recently, and how we could get CEB engineers to do some such studies to sort out the instabilities in the grid.
He was keen to help. We did resolve to help the young engineers in CEB.
Who will replace him? Well, there is no one to do so. He was unmatched. Such was not only his knowledge as well as his desire to help fellow engineers.
May his soul rest in peace and rise in Glory! Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee hosannas to thy eternal rest. May light perpetual shine upon thee!
SHAVINDRANATH FERNANDO
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