Gal Oya Valley Scheme, American Participation & Downstream Development

Unsung Hero of the Gal Oya Project - Dr. Roman A. Szechowycz, Dr. Sc. (Eng), Hanover, M.A.S.C.E., M.I.E.C., A.M.I.C. E. (Information furnished by his son, Andreas, also an Engineer).    Among the many foreign experts who worked for the Gal Oya Development Board at its inception was Dr. Roman A. Szechowycz, Engineer & the Chief Forest Officer, who played a key role in the project at the time. As was the practice then, some of these experts lived in the project area with their families, under the most difficult conditions, & Dr. Szechowycz too was with his family in the project.   Dr. Roman & his colleagues Dr. Roman, Sabina Szechowycz & his staff ? , Dr. Roman, Andreas (partly covered) Dr. Roman with some villagers Dr. Szechowycz was ever willing to share with & impart his knowledge to others, & his publications & lectures, during his period of service (1950-1961) were as follows:   Some of his contributions listed by him are as follow...

  Courtesy Transactions of the Institute of Engineers

 Courtesy https://thuppahis.com/2017/01/14/gal-oya-addressing-errors-in-ajit-kanagasundrams-recollections/ Gerald H. Peiris Michael, I knew Ajit at the time he was an undergraduate at Cambridge, and remember meeting him on and off at the ‘Arts Theatre Restaurant’ at lunch-time. The image that comes to mind is a mild-mannered and gentle youth  ̶-  younger than my circle of post-grad ‘Ceylonese’ pals  like Uswatte, Mahes, Shan, Gunda or Dharmawardena  by, say, 6 or 7 years. I haven’t met him since that time, but it seems from what he has written that he has not lost his gentleness, and has remained almost entirely free of “racial” (ethnic?) prejudices, probably impelled by personal experiences since that time. While I particularly like the ‘autobiographical’ segment of  his essay , I have to refer to several errors  ̶  some, important, others trivial  ̶  that could be attributed to excessive reliance on memory and ignoring what serious res...

 Courtesy https://thuppahis.com/2017/01/13/looking-back-at-ds-senanayake-and-the-gal-oya-project/ Looking Back at DS Senanayake and the Gal Oya Project Ajit Kanagasundram, c ourtesy  Sunday Island  18 th  & 25 th  September 2016, where the title is  “The Gal Oya Project 60 years on” … an essay supported by personal experiences and his father’s key role in this pathfinding development project.   ALSO  go to  http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2016/10/10/the-gal-oya-project-60-years-on/  for the same essay and significant blog comments therein. … Emphasis by highlights is my imprint  Editor, Thuppahi Not many people today remember the Gal Oya Project but f or 20 years it was the showpiece of modern independent Ceylon.   It was later overshadowed by more grand (grandiose?) projects like Mahaveli where billions more were spent but the Gal Oya Project remains the standard by which all other projects should be judged. The Ga...