Features

The Mahaweli Project and the Food Production Drive

Published

6 months ago

2025/01/26

(Excerpted from Rendering Unto Caesar
by Bradman Weerakoon)

The Mahaweli Diversion Project was a dream on which Dudley (Senanayake) had spent many hours of labour. His planners had broken it down into five or six major projects with dams and electricity generating stations below them at selected points on the Mahaweli ganga as it came down from the hills in a north-easterly direction to enter the sea near Trincomalee. It had enormous potential. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of land would be opened up for new cultivation, while many reservoirs on the way, would have their water supplemented.

The hydropower generation capacity was similarly very large. The plan was to raise capacity about two-fold when Mahaweli was completed. Some were talking about exporting the excess power to India. Since there did not appear to be any easy method of mobilizing the enormous resources required, the project was designed to take 30 years for final completion. It would have fulfilled the Senanayake (both D S and Dudley shared it) vision of a country where the symbols of the dagoba (Buddhism) and the wewa (irrigation) complemented each other in ensuring growth and a life of freedom and prosperity to the farming community.

King Parakramabahu’s famous saying, “Let not a drop of water that falls on my land flow into the sea without being of benefit to man,” which Dudley often spoke about and referred to at public meetings, he thought, would be achieved to a great extent through the Mahaweli ganga project.

I recall a grand ballet involving hundreds of dancers being composed on the theme of the Mahaweli project and taken as part of the information department’s publicity to many parts of the country. The opposition cleverly ridiculed the project as a grandiose scheme which would never see the light of day and called it the Mahaweli ‘diversion’ punning on the idea of diverting the people’s attention from the real problems facing the country, of the cost of living and the Tamil ethnic issue. But Dudley went ahead undeterred by the criticism.

Dudley’s food production drive was a model of how a government programme should be conceived, structured and managed. The objective was clear. The country had to become self-sufficient, or close to it, in the production of food, particularly paddy or rice, the staple food of the people.

He had already dealt with the dangerous issue of the rice subsidy which had caused his resignation from office in 1953. Giving two measures at fifty cents a measure to every person in the country was a terrific burden on the exchequer. So he hit upon an ingenious idea – cut the ration to one measure but give it free. The rest could be bought in the open market at whatever price the consumer could bear.

While the public reaction to this amazing proposition was ambivalent, the opposition railed at it implying that Dudley was up to his usual game of hitting the people in the stomach. Sirimavo, inspired perhaps by the news that Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon, and the moon was very much on people’s minds, promised that when she came back she would restore the stolen second measure even if she had to get rice from the moon.

Dudley used the resultant steep increase in the price of rice as an incentive to paddy farmers to increase their production and launched an intensive ‘grow more food’ campaign. At the time, Ceylon was perhaps seventy per cent towards self-sufficiency in its basic food requirements, particularly rice. The rest was being imported. The country faced a severe foreign exchange crisis and imports were difficult to meet the balance. Many, specially the low-income consumers would have had to do without some items of popular taste or move to substitutes like manioc and yams. Flour might have been made available under the US PL480 and other aid schemes. But Dudley realized that wheat could never be produced in the country, and making the consumer dependent on wheat flour, was not advisable in the long run. There was no other choice but to grow the food, especially rice, ourselves.

Dudley who was a good organizer built the infrastructure base realizing that he had to get energetic and experienced people to lead the food production drive. So, he selected several senior administrators with a good track record in management of projects as government agents, and posted them, not without some protest in view of their seniority, to particularly the major rice producing districts. With these individuals in place, sufficiently backed up by technical personnel, like senior irrigation engineers and agriculture department staff, he used the new technology of the Green Revolution which had gained credibility during this time, to provide the farmers with the seed material, pesticides, fertilizers and marketing chains to go for higher productivity from their holdings.

Most importantly, Dudley gave this his very personal imprint by making it a priority item in the Cabinet agendas and commissioning his secretary in defence and external affairs, G V P Samarasinghe to head a special cabinet sub-committee on Food Production. I was part of the cabinet sub-committee team, and G V P went to work with his customary professionalism. Records of minutes, which I have, indicate that there were 56 such cabinet sub-committee meetings during these five years and the range of issues taken up were staggering.

Dudley himself spent a great deal of time on weekends in the field, exhorting both the bureaucracy and the farmers, to produce more and yet more. Everybody cooperated and some amazing yields were obtained in fields which had up till then been known for only average harvests. One or two of the senior men he had handpicked as government agents were not equal to the task. Once in Batticaloa, on a day full of an impossible schedule of inspections of chilli and minor crop cultivation on the western side of the lagoon, where the culverts were broken and detours on dusty, uneven dirt tracks frequent, Dudley lost his customary cool.

It was seven in the evening, the convoy of vehicles had long since broken up, the Youth Settlement Scheme farmers, who had been standing by for four hours, had dispersed and when we arrived there was not a soul in sight. Dudley, bathed in dust and perspiration and very angry, got out of his jeep and bawled, “Where’s that bloody GA? It was curtains for Kasilingam. Within a week the gentle and often absentminded, western classics scholar was back in the treasury in Colombo.

But there were many successes and spurts in production as a result of the program. Crop yields in paddy increased markedly and this was statistically reflected in the Central Bank Reports for these years as follows:

A novel greetings card

Dudley captured all of this change with a wonderful New Year greetings card which he devised himself, in which he appears as a typical paddy farmer in an amude with a mammoty on his shoulder (as seen in the picture). I do not think that any other leader in the world would have wanted to show himself publicly in this manner.

At the end of each year the prime minister’s office would put up for the PM’s approval several specimens of cards to be sent to his friends and acquaintances here and all over the world conveying the customary greetings and good wishes for the season and the New Year. In 1967, with his food production drive in top gear, Dudley designed his own card illustrating in a very personal way his own involvement in his pet project.

To balance the traditional motif inside, with the world’s evolving technology, the cover of the card showed a photograph of the resplendent island of Lanka taken from the satellite Gemini X1 at a height of 500 miles above the earth.

All News Advertisement

Features

BRICS’ pushback against dollar domination sparks global economic standoff

Published

11 hours ago

2025/07/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

BRICS leaders at the recent Summit in Brazil. /United Nations

If one were to look for a ‘rationale’ for the Trump administration’s current decision to significantly raise its tariffs on goods and services entering its shores from virtually the rest of the world, then, it is a recent statement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that one needs to scrutinize. He is quoted as saying that tariffs could return ‘to April levels, if countries fail to strike a deal with the US.’

In other words, countries are urged to negotiate better tariff rates with the US without further delay if they are not to be at the receiving end of the threatened new tariff regime and its disquieting conditions. An unemotional approach to the questions at hand is best.

It would be foolish on the part of the rest of the world to dismiss the Trump administration’s pronouncements on the tariff question as empty rhetoric. In this crisis there is what may be called a not so veiled invitation to the world to enter into discussions with the US urgently to iron out what the US sees as unfair trade terms. In the process perhaps mutually acceptable terms could be arrived at between the US and those countries with which it is presumably having costly trade deficits. The tariff crisis, therefore, should be approached as a situation that necessitates earnest, rational negotiations between the US and its trading partners for the resolving of outstanding issues.

Meanwhile, the crisis has brought more into the open simmering antagonisms between the US and predominantly Southern groupings, such as the BRICS. While the tariff matter figured with some urgency in the recent BRICS Summit in Brazil, it was all too clear that the biggest powers in the grouping were in an effort ‘to take the fight back to the US’ on trade, investment and connected issues that go to the heart of the struggle for global predominance between the East and the US. In this connection the term ‘West’ would need to be avoided currently because the US is no longer in complete agreement with its Western partners on issues of the first magnitude, such as the Middle East, trade tariffs and Ukraine.

Russian President Putin is in the forefront of the BRICS pushback against US dominance in the world economy. For instance, he is on record that intra-BRICS economic interactions should take place in national currencies increasingly. This applies in particular to trade and investment. Speaking up also for an ‘independent settlement and depository system’ within BRICS, Putin said that the creation of such a system would make ‘currency transactions faster, more efficient and safer’ among BRICS countries.

If the above and other intra-BRICS arrangements come to be implemented, the world’s dependence on the dollar would steadily shrink with a corresponding decrease in the power and influence of the US in world affairs.

The US’ current hurry to bring the world to the negotiating table on economic issues, such as the tariff question, is evidence that the US has been fully cognizant of emergent threats to its predominance. While it is in an effort to impress that it is ‘talking’ from a position of strength, it could very well be that it is fearful for its seemingly number one position on the world stage. Its present moves on the economic front suggest that it is in an all-out effort to keep its global dominance intact.

At this juncture it may be apt to observe that since ‘economics drives politics’, a less dollar dependent world could very well mark the beginning of the decline of the US as the world’s sole super power. One would not be exaggerating by stating that the tariff issue is a ‘pre-emptive’, strategic move of sorts by the US to remain in contention.

However, the ‘writing on the wall’ had been very manifest for the US and the West for quite a while. It is no longer revelatory that the global economic centre of gravity has been shifting from the West to the East.

Asian scholarship, in particular, has been profoundly cognizant of the trends. Just a few statistics on the Asian economic resurgence would prove the point. Parag Khanna in his notable work, ‘The Future is Asian’, for example, discloses the following: ‘Asia represents 50 percent of global GDP…It accounts for half of global economic growth. Asia produces and exports as well as imports and consumes more goods than any region.’

However, the US continues to be number one in the international power system currently and non-Western powers in particular would be erring badly if they presume that the economic health of the world and connected matters could be determined by them alone. Talks with the US would not only have to continue but would need to be conducted with the insight that neither the East nor the West would stand to gain by ignoring or glossing over the US presence.

To be sure, any US efforts to have only its way in the affairs of the world would need to be checked but as matters stand, the East and the South would need to enter into judicious negotiations with the US to meet their legitimate ends.

From the above viewpoint, it could be said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the most perceptive of Southern leaders at the BRICS Summit. On assuming chairmanship of the BRICS grouping, Modi said, among other things: ‘…During our chairmanship of BRICS, we will take this forum forward in the spirit of people-centricity and humanity first.’

People-centricity should indeed be the focus of BRICS and other such formations of predominantly the South, that have taken upon themselves to usher the wellbeing of people, as opposed to that of power elites and ruling classes.

East and West need to balance each other’s power but it all should be geared towards the wellbeing of ordinary people everywhere. The Cold War years continue to be instructive for the sole reason that the so-called ordinary people in the Western and Soviet camps gained nothing almost from the power jousts of the big powers involved. It is hoped that BRICS would grow steadily but not at the cost of democratic development.

Features

Familian Night of Elegance …

Published

11 hours ago

2025/07/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

The UK branch of the Past Pupils Association of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya went into action last month with their third grand event … ‘Familian Night of Elegance.’ And, according to reports coming my way, it was nothing short of a spectacular success.

This dazzling evening brought together over 350 guests who came to celebrate sisterhood, tradition, and the deep-rooted bonds shared by Familians around the world.

Describing the event to us, Inoka De Sliva, who was very much a part of the scene, said:

Inoka De Silva: With one of the exciting prizes – air ticket to Canada and back to the UK

“The highlight of the night was the performance by the legendary Corrine Almeida, specially flown in from Sri Lanka. Her soulful voice lit up the room, creating unforgettable memories for all who attended. She was backed by the sensational UK-based band Frontline, whose energy and musical excellence kept the crowd on their feet throughout the evening.”

Corrine
Almeida:
Created
unforgettable
memories

Inoka, who now resides in the UK, went on to say that the hosting duties were flawlessly handled by the ever popular DJ and compere Vasi Sachi, who brought his trademark style and charisma to the stage, while his curated DJ sets, during the breaks, added fun and a modern vibe to the atmosphere.

Mrs. Rajika Jesuthasan: President of the UK
branch of the Past Pupils Association of
Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya
(Pix by Mishtré Photography’s Trevon Simon

The event also featured stunning dance performances that captivated the audience and elevated the celebration with vibrant cultural flair and energy.

One of the most appreciated gestures of the evening was the beautiful satin saree given to every lady upon arrival … a thoughtful and elegant gift that made all feel special.

Guests were also treated to an impressive raffle draw with 20 fantastic prizes, including air tickets.

The Past Pupils Association of Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya, UK branch, was founded by Mrs. Rajika Jesuthasan née Rajakarier four years ago, with a clear mission: to bring Familians in the UK together under one roof, and to give back to their beloved alma mater.

As the curtain closed on another successful Familian celebration, guests left with hearts full, and spirits high, and already counting down the days until the next gathering.

Features

The perfect tone …

Published

11 hours ago

2025/07/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

We all want to have flawless skin, yet most people believe that the only way to achieve that aesthetic is by using costly skin care products.

Getting that perfect skin is not that difficult, even for the busiest of us, with the help of simple face beauty tips at home.

Well, here are some essential ways that will give you the perfect tone without having to go anywhere.

* Ice Cubes to Tighten Skin:

Applying ice cubes to your skin is a fast and easy effective method that helps to reduce eye bags and pores, and makes the skin look fresh and beautiful. Using an ice cube on your face, as a remedy in the morning, helps to “revive” and prepare the skin.

* Oil Cleansing for Skin:

Use natural oils, like coconut oil or olive oil, to cleanse your skin. Oils can clean the face thoroughly, yet moisturise its surface, for they remove dirt and excess oil without destroying the skin’s natural barriers. All one has to do is pick a specific oil, rub it softly over their face, and then wipe it off, using a warm soak (cloth soaked in warm water). It is a very simple method for cleaning the face.

* Sugar Scrub:

Mix a tablespoon of sugar with honey, or olive oil, to make a gentle scrub. Apply it in soft, circular motions, on your face and wash it off after a minute. This helps hydrate your skin by eliminating dead skin cells, which is the primary purpose of the scrub.

* Rose Water Toner:

One natural toner that will soothe and hydrate your skin is rose water. Tightening pores, this water improves the general texture of your skin. This water may be applied gently to the face post-cleansing to provide a soothing and hydrating effect to your face.

* Aloe Vera:

It is well known that aloe vera does wonders for the skin. It will provide alleviation for the skin, because of its calming and moisturising effects. The application of aloe vera gel, in its pure form, to one’s skin is beneficial as it aids in moisturising each layer, prevents slight skin deformity, and also imparts a fresh and healthy look to the face. Before going to bed is the best time to apply aloe vera.

* Water:

Staying hydrated, by drinking plenty of water (06 to 08 cups or glasses a day), helps to flush toxins and its functions in detoxification of the body, and maintenance the youthfulness of the skin in one’s appearance.