The
49th Death Anniversary of Professor Evan Alan Hardy was yesterday. I
knew nothing of the man till yesterday until I read up on what he has
contributed to Sri Lanka’s Education, most especially as the Founder of the
“Hardy Advanced Technological Institute” in Ampara on 15th January
1956.
This
boy born in 1st October 1890 in Sioux City, Iowa and raised on a
farm, who at age 61 when a Professor of the University of Saskatchewan in
Canada, was sent as an UN/FAO adviser to the Department of Agriculture in Sri
Lanka in 1951. He was selected to organize and develop a program of training and
set up a Technical Training Institute in Ampara to produce the engineers to
operate the development program in the Gal Oya Valley.
He commenced diploma courses in
Mechanical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Agricultural Engineering
Soil Science
Surveying and Leveling
Irrigation
I
quote from the web site of the Hardy Institute
“ This program which Prof. Hardy compared to the Tennesse Valley Authority took on the task of irrigation, supplying electricity,
improving agriculture techniques, protecting against floods, developing roads, cities and villages in the 1200
square mile area in the historic Digamadulla region.”
For
someone who headed the Department of Agricultural Engineering in the University
of Saskatchewan for 25 years to come here and dedicate the rest of his life is
no mean achievement even now, so hats off to a man who was able to bring his
expertise and contribute so much to the development of Sri Lanka, when so many
of our young minds who get their education here, go to the very same country to
contribute to their growth and development forsaking their motherland, which to
them does not give them the opportunity in life that they seek, desire and wish
for their children.
Of
course he wanted his Institute to be the basis of a Technical University, which
has yet to take place, however it produces a significant number of diploma
holders in various fields and most of all has provided short term courses for
specialists in development projects of an Irrigation, Hydroelectric and
Agricultural Engineering fields both for the Gal Oya scheme but also for later
development projects including that of the Mahaweli Scheme.
It
is worth noting that he came to this country during DS Senanayake’s tenure as
Prime Minister, and we owe a debt of gratitude to him too for attracting such
able people to our shores to devote their lives to the future of this land.
1 comment:
Why is it in SL that everything that happens in SL even teh weather is attributable to politicians! I think it is probably a MAJOR stretch to attribute Hardy's contributions to D.S. Senanayake.
That said, hat's off to the man and his completely unheralded (at least among the Colombo crowd) contributions to Sri Lanka.
Great story.
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