newsletter - march april -2014.pmd

The Newspaper of The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka Vol. 50, No 02, March/April 2014Registered at the GPO as a Newspaper No.

The Institution of EngineersSri Lanka

120/15, Wijerama MawathaColombo 7, Sri Lanka

Tel: 2685490,2698426, 2699210Fax: 2699202E.mail:[email protected]/[email protected]:http://www.iesl..lk

in this issueIESL JIY winners wins topmultiple awards at intelinternational science andEngineering fair inUSA.....................................3

Editorial...............................4

PRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNER

JIY has done it again !This time both nominees win grandawards at Intel ISEF 2014Namal Udara Piyasiri (18) from Thabuttegama Central College,

Thambuttegama has won 2nd place Grand Award in the Electrical

and Mechanical Engineering category and two other special awards

for his invention ‘Versatile Field Construction Machine For Paddy

Cultivation’.

Nipun Kavishka Silva (15) from De Mazenod College, Kanadana

won 4th place Grand Award in the Computer Science category for

his invention ‘Artificial Intelligence Sense for the Blind to Play Video

Games using their Tongue’.

Incidentally Nipun was the joint winner along with his sister, Pipunika,

of the IEEE Foundation Award at the Intel ISEF 2012 too.

Engineering Excellence Awards 2014, the country’s pre-

mier event for recognitionand celebrating excel-lence in the profession andscience of engineeringwas ceremonial launchedon Monday, 28th April,2014 at ‘The Victorian’Function Room of theKingsbury Hotel, Colombo,in the presence of an audi-ence represented by heads of engineering related or-ganizations, well-wishers,

media personnel, Councilmembers and staff of theIESL.

President of IESL, Eng.Shavindranath Fernando inhis welcome addressdescribed the engineers in thecountry as traditionally notgiven to trumpeting their ownachievements but pointed outthat unless they blow theirown trumpets, at least oncein a while, others may use itas a spittoon and peoplewouldn’t know the tremen-

dous amount of engineer-ing that has gone in to al-most every aspect of mod-ern living in the society.Describing the awardsscheme as a means of re-warding and publicizingexcellence among engi-neers and engineering or-ganizations he imploredthe media to take themessage to the public tobe aware and appreciatethe role of the engineer inthe day to day life

"Ayubowan. It’s with great pleasure that I bring this

message to you, the members of the Institution ofEngineers, Sri Lanka, with a lot of experience that I gainedwithin the last couple of months when I visited some of oursister organizations in and around the region. I had the oppor-tunity especially to visit India twice; once to attend the con-gress in Tamil Nadu and t =hen recently I visited Ahamadabadto attend the Regional Seminar organized by the FEISCA andalso to attend the Executive Committee meeting of the FEISCA.FEISCA stands for the Federation of Engineering Institutionsof South and Central Asia.

What I learned during these meetings is that we, the IESL,stand very much ahead of most of our sister organizations inthe region. I think this bears well for our institution and it beingbecause of our 107 years of existence and most of our sys-tems are very much intact and very much ahead of most otherinstitutions in the region. This was a very happy occasion forme and in fact when I visited Ahamadabad again about 2 weeksago I also had another member of ours, Eng. MrsKandamby,who presented a paper on Low Cost Housing. I musttell that among the 4 or 5 papers that were presented I wouldeasily rate Eng. Mrs Kandamby’s paper the best. Even whenmy President Elect visited Bangladesh subsequently to attendthe Bangladeash Congress they have made special mentionof our contribution to that seminar.Now once again I would like to update you on a few issues thatI have been talking to you about for the past few weeks namelyour attempts to gain international recognition. There are twothings that we have to be watchful about. Firstly we have beena provisional member of the Washington Accord from the year2008. This June, in about 2 to 3 weeks time, there will be adecision made on our continuation as a provisional member orwill be granted full membership. Once we obtain full member-ship of the Washington Accord what does it mean to us? Firstlywe become members of this elite club of engineering institu-tions recognized worldwide as bodies capable of accreditingengineering courses primarily done in the country.

At the moment we have six engineering courses being done inthe country; 3 at the traditional universities of Moratuwa,Peradeniya and Ruhuna, 1 at the Open University of Sri Lankaand 2 at the fledging universities of Jaffna and South EasternUniversity at Oluvil. Some of these courses have been alreadyaccredited by the IESL. However this accreditation is confinedto our own shores only. But if we are granted full membershipof the Washington Accord all the engineering courses we haveaccredited hitherto and will be accrediting in the future shallget international recognition. That is a tremendous boost toengineers who pass out of our universities.

Secondly we have also been a full member of the InternationalEngineers’ Alliance formerly known as the Engineers MobilityForum. Now what it will mean if we get the full membership ofthe Washington Accord is that our engineers whom we recognizeas International Professionally Qualified Engineers will not berequired to register in the signatory countries of the alliance

like US, UK, Ireland, Malayia,Singapore , Hongkong, Japan etcto practice in those countries.

So these are the two things we arepursuing right now and I am veryhopeful that with the lot of work thathas gone ahead for the last sev-eral years by my predecessors andspecially I must mention the lotsof hardwork put in by Prof. B.LTennekoon and the Executive Sec-retary to furnish all the necessarydocuments required by the Wash-ington Accord review team and I am

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Contd. on page 11...

Established 1906

ENGINEERING NEWSSRI LANKA

Engineering ExcellenceAwards – 2014 Launched

IESL NEWS2Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2014

TENTATIVEANNUAL EVENTS

CALENDAR –2013 / 2014

Event Dates

♦♦♦♦♦Unveiling of the photograph Friday-July 4, 2014 of the Immediate Past President

♦♦♦♦♦Engineering Excellence Friday-August 15, 2014 Awards Ceremony

♦♦♦♦♦Dr. Ray Wijeyewardene Wednesday-August 20 Memorial Lecture 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Induction and Graduation Friday-August 22,2014 Ceremony

♦♦♦♦♦E O E Pereira Memorial Friday –September 12, Lecture 2014

♦♦♦♦♦D J Wimalasurendra Wednesday-September 17 Memorial Lecture 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Techno Exhibition Friday- Sunday October 10-12, 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Inauguration of the Friday- October 10, 2014 Annual Sessions

♦♦♦♦♦Annual Sessions (FEISCA) Saturday- October 11,Seminar 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Annual Sessions Site Visit Sunday-October 12, 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Presentation of Technical Monday-Wednesday -Papers October 13 -15, 2014,

♦♦♦♦♦National Engineering Thursday -Friday- Conference June 26 and 27, 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Presentation of Friday- October 17, 2014Technical Papers byYoung Members

♦♦♦♦♦Annual General Meeting Saturday- October 18, 2014

♦♦♦♦♦Dr. A N S Kulasinghe Friday -October 24, 2014 Memorial Lecture

♦♦♦♦♦Techno Awards Ceremony Friday – October 31, 2014

The following are thesubscription fees for theyear 2014:Membership Class Proposed Rate (Rs)Fellow 5000Member 4000Associate Member 3000Affiliate Member 2500Associate 2500Companion 2500Student Member 1000

A discount of 25% will be offered to membersother than Student Members who are above60 years of age and who declare that theirannual income is less than Rs 600,000/=

Executive Secretary

IMPORTANT NOTICE

SPECIAL PROFESSIONAL REVIEW ROUTE FOR CANDIDATES IN THEFIELD OF

AGRICULTURE AND PLANTATION ENGINEERING

A special route for the award of the Corporate Membership for those practicing in thefield of Agriculture and Plantation Engineering has been approved by the Council ofthe Institution at its meeting held on May 2, 2014.

Eligibility Requirements:1.Shall posses a relevant engineering degree recognized or accredited by the Institution2.Shall have at least 8 years’ experience in the Field of Agriculture and Plantation

Engineering with increasing levels of responsibility

The candidate will be required to submit a report of approximately 2500 words onhis/her training and experience , highlighting the increasing levels of responsibilityshouldered by him/her and certified by the supervising engineer or a Corporate Memberof the Institution. He/she will have to face an interview by a panel consisting of threeChartered Engineers and will be required to sit for the Professional Review A Paperwith the Design and the Professional Review B Paper exempted.

This special route will be in force for a period of four years commencing from May 2,2014.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

IESL NEWS 3Sri Lanka Engineering News - March / April 2014

IESL JIY WINNERS WINS TOPMULTIPLE AWARDS AT INTEL INTER-

NATIONAL SCIENCE ANDENGINEERING FAIR IN USA

by Eng. Jayavilal Meegoda

The winners of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) Junior Inventor ofthe Year (JIY) competition 2013, Namal Udara Piyasiri & Nipun Kavishka Silva havedone Mother lanka proud by winning several top awards at the 2014 Intel International

Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), in Los Angeles, California. Namal Udara Piyasiri, aproduct of Thambuttegama Central College, has won the Second Award of US$1,500 in theElectrical and Mechanical Engineering category by the Society for Science and the Public,in partnership with the Intel Foundation for his project “ Versatile Field Construction Ma-chine for Paddy Cultivation”, a device that can carry out soil preparation and harvesting inaddition to the standard functions such as plowing, harrowing, leveling of soil,.Nipun KavishkaSilva, a product of De Mazenod College, Kandana, has won the Fourth Award of US$500 forhis project “Artificial Intelligence Sense for the Blind to Play Video Games using TheirTongue”, a device that allows persons with disabilities to play video games using theirtongue, in the Computer Science category at the above competition.According to Eng.Jayavilal Meegoda, the Vice President of the IESL who was in Los Angeles, California withthe Sri Lankan contingent, Namal’s project has also won two special awards, at the SpecialAwards Ceremony. He has received a First Award of US$1,000 cash award from theAmerican Intellectual Property Law Association. U.S. Agency for International Developmenthas awarded Namal another US$10,000 cash award. Over 1,700 high school students from65 countries had participated in this year’s Intel Science and Engineering Fair, the world’slargest pre-college science competition, from May 11 -16 in Los Angeles, CA. They hadcompeted for awards and scholarships worth nearly four million dollars.The contingent in-cluding Namal & Nipuna, received a rousing welcome on their arrival at the KatunayakeAirport on May 19 morning & H.E. the President felicitated the students, at the PresidentialSecretariat.

only hopeful that we will be bestowed with the honour of thefull membership.

I am going to present our case once again at this Washing-ton Accord meeting in Welington. I am to be accompaniedby Prof. Laxman Ratnayake, Prof. A.K.W Jayawardane andExecutive Secretary, Eng.(Ms) Arundathi Wimalasuriya. Sothis time we are fielding a very strong team and I hope thatwe will be able to achieve our cherished dream.

Thirdly I would like to once again mention the several eventsthat are coming up in the next few months. You must bealready aware of the launch of the Engineering ExcellenceAward 2014. So I hope that many of you have sent your nomi-nations / applications to be considered for the various awardswe are offering this time too.

We also have launched the TECHNO Sri Lanka 2014 thisFriday, 23rd May, 2014 and can look forward to a very fruitfuland enjoyable time at the Techno. As we started the lastyear there shall be a quarter for the members and there willbe a Members' Lounge. I would like to encourage the largenumber of members in our provincial chapters to come andshare the knowledge and new technologies that gets show-cased at this exhibition.

One more information I would like to share with you. At thelast Council meeting we decided to grant a concession toAgricultural and Plantation Engineers in particular as theywere not able to gain membership due to the lack of profes-sionally qualified Agricultural and Plantation Engineers. Wehave decided to grant them a window of opportunity of al-most 4 years for them to gain membership initially as Asso-ciate Members and graduate thereafter to CorporateMembership.

At the same moment there is a period given up to the May31st, 2014 for those who have not been able to pay their sub-scriptions for some time now to join the institution by payinga nominal fee of Rs 15,000/= for Corporate Members and Rs12,000/= for Associate Members to rejoin the institution andget something from the institution and also give back some-thing to the institution.

Thank you"

Contd. from page 1..PRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNERPRESIDENT’S CORNER

Condolence notice

The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka recordswith deep regret the passing away recently ofEng. S A D A Subasinghe, a senior member ofthe IESL, who is also a Fellow.The late Eng. Subasinghe had served in the Coun-cil of the IESL and served in various standingcommittees of the Institution as well.We express our deepest condolences to hisfamily.

INDUCTION & GRADUATIONCEREMONY 2014

The Induction and Graduation Ceremony 2014 of theIESL will be held on August 22, 2014 at the CommitteeRoom ‘B’ of the BMICH, Colombo commencing at 5.00p.m.

Chief Guest : Dr. Mohamend Ismail – ViceChancellor of the South EasternUniversity

Guest of : Eng. (Prof.) MohanHonour Kumaraswamy

At this ceremony, the new Chartered Engineers willbe inducted and those who have successfullycompleted the IESL Engineering Course will bepresented with Certificates. Scholarship will beawarded to deserving JIY Winners.


Sri LankaEngineering News

What types ofengineers will be

needed in the future?

Have we ever thought ofthe above question? Atthis moment, the aca-

demic institutions are thinking ofincreasing the intake to cater forthe demands in 2020. Are we re-ally serious about this? Howmany civil engineers (other en-gineering disciplines too) wouldbe required in 2020? As IESL we have to addressthis issue in a logical manner. Simply doubling theintake would create job seekers if we could not ad-dress the real demand.

In the USA, they have thought of this issue and pri-oritized the following professions to suit the engi-neering demand in the future (U. S. Department ofLabor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, OccupationalOutlook Handbook, 2008-09 Edition, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/).Chemical, biomedical, civil, sustainability designand environmental, computer software, electrical andelectronics, mechanical, materials and aerospaceengineers would be required in the future. Now, youmay argue with me almost all the different disciplinesare already there in this list. But, have we thought ofthe numbers we need for the new fields like biomedi-cal and aerospace engineers? I know that petroleumengineering is in the cards now. So we will beequipped with petroleum engineers (made in SriLanka) very soon. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ gives lotof information and I quoted few which I thought ascritical.

The aging of the population and the focus on healthissues will drive demand for better medical devicesand equipment designed by biomedical engineers.Along with the demand for more sophisticated medi-cal equipment and procedures, an increased con-cern for cost-effectiveness will boost demand forbiomedical engineers, particularly in pharmaceuti-cal manufacturing and related industries. Therefore,an engineering degree in biomedical engineeringmust be commenced ASAP.

More environmental and sustainability engineers willbe needed to comply with environmental regulationsand to develop “green” methods and buildings aswe progress into the next decade. A shift in empha-sis towards preventing problems rather than con-trolling those that already exist, as well as increasingpublic health concerns resulting from populationgrowth, are expected to spur demand forsustainability and environmental engineers.Material engineers will be needed to develop newmaterials for electronics, biotechnology, and plasticproducts. Growth should be particularly strong formaterials engineers working on nanomaterials andbiomaterials.

The list will be too long if I have to describe the otherdisciplines, but as engineers, it is our duty to informthe relevant authorities with the number required by2020 in each discipline of engineering in a logicalmanner. If you are interested in contributing with yourprogressive ideas, some space in SLEN can be re-served for you.Udeni [email protected]

REQUIRED - COPY EDITORFOR

‘ENGINEER’ JOURNALOF

THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS,SRI LANKA

The Editorial Board of the IESL invites offers from its Corporate Mem-bers to serve as Copy Editors of its quarterly journal ‘ENGINEER’. Anexcellent command of the English language, attention to detail andability to devote time for the timely release of the journal are creden-tials that go well with the task of Copy Editing the journal ensuringthat internationally recognized standards for a scholarly journal aremet. Those willing to support this endeavor are kindly requested tocontact Mr. Jiffry Farzandh – Publicity Officer of the IESL. on Tel :2698426 ext 232, e-mail - [email protected].

Prof. T. M. Pallewatta,Editor – Journal ‘ENGINEER’

CKD affecting farming familiesby : Eng. V. Vedage

CEng CMarEng MIE AMIMECHE MIET MSc MPhil

CKD affecting farming familiesin the NCP of Sri Lanka hasreached a crisis proportion.The pain and suffering of thepoor farming families of SriLanka, due to CKDu is im-mense. The CKDu problemneeds urgent attention as ithas caused massive socialproblems, destitute families,dysfunctional families andeven orphans. Analysis ofavailable data indicate thatthere is an association be-tween toxic agrochemicalsand CKDu. Education, aware-ness, drinking clean waterand keeping the environmentfree of toxins is the key toreducing the number ofdeaths due to CKDu. Unlessmeasures are taken to pre-vent the contamination of theenvironment by harmful tox-ins such as Cadmium, Ar-senic and other heavy met-als, Sri Lanka wouldexperience increasingnumber of cancers, CKDucases and mentally retardedpeople.

Some researchers haveblamed Cd, As, Pb contami-nation of agrochemicals asa possible cause whilst oth-ers have linked hard water in-teracting with agrochemicals,fluorides and bacteria as apossible cause. It is possiblethat the cause could be dueto a combination of factors in-cluding genetics, diet, alco-hol intake, fluid intake, neph-rotoxic drug intake, lifestyle,exposure to toxins and otherenvironmental factors.

CKDu has emerged as a ma-jor health problem only dur-ing the past 20-25 years. Itis interesting to observe that

widespread use of cheapagrochemicals occurredduring the same period. Itappears that there is an as-sociation of CKDu withagrochemicals, as sus-pected by many research-ers. In Punjab, poor farmingfamilies have reported ex-cessive cancer deaths thatmay be related to drinkingcontaminated water. It ispossible that NCP of SriLanka also could experi-ence cancer deaths unlesscontamination of the environ-ment with toxins is man-aged. Further, as exposureto heavy metals such aslead, cadmium and mercurycould lead to mentalretardation and mentalproblems. CKDu problem isa waiting time bomb. Poorfarming families in manyparts of the world have ex-perienced health problemsthat many suspect is linkedto toxic agrochemicals.

There is some similarity withthe asbestos problem. Ini-tially scientists claimed thatexposure to asbestos issafe within limits. Years laterthey found that asbestoshas no safe limits. Could itbe that long term exposureto even low levels of toxicagrochemicals is harmful ?

CKD is causing enormoushardship to the farming fami-lies and ways of reducing theincidence of CKD needs ur-gent attention. Variousmeans of reducing the inci-dence of CKD has to be in-vestigated. One possible ap-proach, that can be carriedout immediately is, is to pro-vide clean water to the con-

sumers, take safety mea-sures to prevent toxins en-tering the human body andtake measures to preventtoxins entering the environ-ment. At the same timeawareness campaign has tobe carried out so that preven-tative measures can betaken by people themselves.

Hospital statistics of SriLanka suggest that in excessof 8,000 people are currentlyundergoing treatment forCKDu. (WHO report).

The mean cost of a dialysissession in Sri Lanka (2010)was LKR 6,377 (US$ 56).The annual cost ofhaemodialysis for a patientwith chronic renal failure un-dergoing 2-3 dialysis sessionof four hours duration perweek was LKR 663,208-994,812 (US$ 5,869-8,804).Based on these figures, amonthly cost of dialysis perpatient is in excess of LKR50000.

A healthy nation is neededfor development of the nation.If a large part of the societyis ill with CKDu, then it willinhibit the progress of thenation. In addition CKDcause immense suffering tothe patients and their fami-lies. Finding a solution to thisproblem is extremely impor-tant.

Rather than do nothing, say-ing that the cause is un-known, it would be beneficialto suspect a possible causeand take action. What isknown is that people whodrink clean water and are



Selection of Solar PV System for Your Home

As we all know solar energy is not a source of firm continuous power made available on demand, unlike a Diesel generator or a hydropower plant. Solarpower is only available during the day time and that too varying from low in the morning to high at noon and again low towards the afternoon hours. Itis further distorted due to very much unpredictable cloud cover. In addition to these diurnal variations it is also affected by seasonal variations such as

the two monsoons.

by Eng. Jayantha RanatungaChartered Engineer

Large portion of the powerdemand in the home occursin the evening hours, whichis now referred to as the ‘TVdrama belt’. If we are to to-tally depend on solar powerexcess has to be stored insome form to be used whenneeded. To overcome thismismatch the widely usedmethod of storage is the wellknown rechargeable battery.Cheapest form of recharge-able battery is the lead acidcells. But this has manydraw backs such as, powerloss during the charging anddischarging cycle, short lifetime and the need of regularbattery care. Other option ofNickel cadmium deep dis-charge battery is somewhatexpensive. Therefore to over-come this nagging demand–generation mismatch, sev-eral developed nations haveinitiated the ‘Net Metering’system. One should remem-ber that those being indus-trialized countries; they havea day time peak which is inharmony with solar power.

Under the net metering sys-tem, the utility (power dis-tributor) undertakes to re-ceive your excess power dur-ing day time and allow youto draw power from the na-tional grid during other timeswhen your demand is in ex-cess of the generation. Youare billed only for the differ-ence. At this stage I do notwish to burden the readerwith the mechanism of howthe utility balances this out.Such systems are also re-ferred to as ‘Grid Tied SolarPV’ systems. Almost all thedomestic solar power sys-tems installed in this coun-try are of this type, and ac-cordingly I will limit my analy-sis to such systems only.

Sri Lanka's monthly electric-ity bill is computed by add-ing the fuel surcharge to themeter charge. The metercharge is based on the prin-ciple of increasing blockrates for higher consumers (Rs 3 per unit for those con-suming less than 30 units permonth and increasing toRs42 per unit for those con-suming over 180 units permonth) . This is done for tworeasons; firstly to discourageexcessive consumption andnext to charge higher ratesfrom those who could affordto pay as a measure of en-suring social equity. The sur-plus thus collected from high-end users is used to cross

subsidize the lower end us-ers. On the other hand theaverage delivered cost ofelectricity to your homecosts the utility only Rs 23per unit. Our electricity tar-iff made up of unit charge,fuel surcharge and fixedcharge is shown in the graphbelow.

What is the cost of solarenergy?

One way of computing thecost of energy is to dividethe capital investment ofsolar cells by the total num-ber of units of energy gener-ated during the system lifetime. The current price of asolar PV system is aroundRs 400,000 for one peak kiloWatt. Such a unit can pro-duce 120 units (kWhrs) ofelectricity per month in SriLanka. However this genera-tion ability is known to re-duce at the rate of 1% peryear as the system ages. Ifthe life of the Solar systemis assumed as 25years it willproduce 32000 units duringits life time. But one mustbe mindful that the futurebenefits have to be dis-counted to bring it to presenttime. For such purposes adiscounting factor of 10% isused. Another adjustment isneeded as the future priceof electricity is expected toincrease due to inflation. Wecan assume a price escala-tion of 5% per annum. Un-der these assumptions thesolar panel generated elec-tricity unit will cost Rs 22. Itshould also be kept in mind

that the current net meteringcontracts are valid for a 10year period only. There is noguarantee that the systemwill be continued after thelapse of 10 years for reasonsI will be explaining later in thisarticle. Based on 10 years lifethe cost of solar energy is Rs36 per unit.

There is a much simpler wayof computing the financial vi-ability of solar energy. Thatis by comparing the opportu-nity cost of the initial invest-ment with possible savings inthe electricity bill. Instead ofinvesting the Rs 400,000 ona solar panel system that canproduce 120 units of electric-ity per month, one can de-cide to place it in a fixed de-posit. Assuming 10% annualinterest, one will receive Rs3333 as interest per month.

Figure 1 Electricity bill vs. units consumed

By dividing this to 120 units gen-erated each unit can be valuedat Rs 28. For this calculation Ihave ignored both the 400,000left in the bank as well as theresidual value of the solar PVsystems. Therefore effect of anyerrors will cancel each other.

From the foregoing computationit will be clear up to 120 unitsof consumption solar energy isnot financially attractive as onehas the option of buying those120 units from the national gridfor Rs 2800, whereas the fore-gone interest is Rs 3333. There-fore one needs to be careful innot reducing the meter readingbelow 120 units with solar en-ergy.

Figure 2 Marginal cost vs. units consumed

Beyond 120 unit consump-tion the scenario keepchanging rapidly as the ad-ditional units will cost Rs42per unit. When it exceedsthe 180units additional unitwill cost Rs 58.80. If youare a consumer of 240units per month you shouldonly invest on a 1 kWppanel system that cangenerate 120 units permonth. Similarly thosewho are consuming 300units may invest on 1.5kWp system costing himaround Rs 600,000. Sucha system will reduce yourelectricity bill fromRs12500 to Rs 2800 result-ing in a saving of Rs 9700,whereas you will receiveonly Rs 5000 as fixed de-posit interest.

Above computationsclearly demonstrate the fi-nancial benefits that canbe achieved through do-mestic solar PV systemsfor heavy users whose con-sumption exceeds 240units per month.I promised to tell you whyI doubt the net meteringsystem will last beyond 10years. Although it is ex-tremely attractive to theheavy consumers, it hurtsthe country’s economy.Cost of generation and dis-tribution of electricity isabout Rs 23 as at today.This is expected to comedown with the commission-ing of new coal powerplants. As shown here so-lar energy will cost Rs 30per unit at today’s prices.Some argue that it willcome down in the future.

Contd. on page 11....


Can it be a Solution for Traffic Jams inColombo Area?

by : Eng. M I M Riyas,Road Development Authority of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a small Island of which Land area is about 65,610 km2and the populationis 20,277,597 according to the census report of 2012. On the other hand, density ofthe population is 323/km2 which is 40th in world wise.

Place Density (Person/km2)

Sri Lanka 323Colombo 17,344

Colombo, the capital of SriLanka is a highly developedcity in the county as well asin the world. Population alsoseems very high and popu-lation density is known to be17,344/km2.

The above table clearlyshows how Colombo area iscongested.

Since this city is highlycongested, traffic is alsohighly congested. Moreover,on the road, everybody iswaiting for the green light toflash to drive fast to reachtheir destinations.

This common sight inColombo city during thepeak hours of morning andevening is no doubt the mostunpleasant experience tostart the day. Waiting on theroad for hours is an irritatingexperience. The road usershave no option other thancurse and blame all theresponsible parties and gothrough the sameexperience every day.

The main reasons for thistraffic Jam in the peak hourare,•School Students•Office workers

Although, lots of studieswere carried out, still no longterm solution has beenachieved. It is impossible tomake no traffics jam on theroad but still possible to re-duce or evenly distribute it.

Total hours of school for aweek = 5 days X 6 hrs = 30 hrsTotal hours of office for aweek = 5 days X 8 hrs= 40 hrs30 hrs of school for a weekcan be changed as 7.5 hrs of4 days and 40 hrs of officeas 10 hrs of 4 days.

Now we have 4 days of schooland 4 days of Office in a week.This can be arranged as fol-lows,

Days Traffic volume due Traffic volume due Total Traffic volume to Schools to office (8.00am-3.30pm) (8.00am- 6.00pm)

Monday Y Y

Tuesday Y Y

Wednesday X Y X+Y

Thursday X X

Friday X X

Saturday X X

Sunday Y Y

For Example,Days Traffic volume Traffic volume Total due to Schools due to office Traffic (8.00am-2.00pm) (8.30am- 4.30pm) volume

Monday X Y X+Y

Tuesday X Y X+Y

Wednesday X Y X+Y

Thursday X Y X+Y

Friday X Y X+Y

Saturday 0 0 0

Sunday 0 0 0

My Solution.Since the traffic is very highduring the peak time and verylow during the non-peak time,our focus is to distribute thetraffic flow evenly. Usually thetraffic flow is very high duringweek days and low in week-ends. The main reason is thatschools and offices are func-tioned during the week days.Here, it is very observable thatthe traffic volume is high dur-ing weekdays and very lessduring weekends. So ourobjective here is to distributethe traffic volume as follows,

Certificate AwardingCeremony of QuantitySurveying CPD Course

The awarding ceremony of the recently concluded QuantitySurveying CPD Course conducted by the Continues Profes-sional Development Committee of the IESL was held on Tues-day, 6th May, 2014 at the Wimalasurendra Auditorium of theinstitution. A total of Forty Six (46) students who success-fully completed the course from the batch of 55 studentswho had joined the course on a first come first basis receivedtheir certificates. Four (4) students who fulfilled the minimumattendance level also received certificates of participation atthe event. Eng. Jayavilal Meegoda - Vice President of IESLand Chairman of CPD Committee, Eng. A.P.R De Silva - Hony.Treasurer, Eng. Kanishka Samudaya Nanayakkara – Mem-ber of CPD Committee and Mrs. G Jayasoma – CharteredQuantity Surveyor who was the resource person for the course,distributed the certificates.


IESL LIBRARY — FACILITIESMembers of the IESL and students of the IESLCollege of Engineering can request for books thatare not available in the library by filling out aform kept in the library for this purpose, or elseyou could drop an e-mail to [email protected]. Thelibrary Development Committee (LDC) willmake all efforts to purchase them and will no-tify you when these become available.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY


A media awareness seminar for creating awarenessamong media personnel on the scope for engineering based reporting in the country and recognition

and rewards they can receive for such reporting was held atthe Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo on Monday, April 7, 2014.

Dr. Charitha Herath, Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Me-dia and Information graced the occasion as a special guest.Eng. Ivan De Silva - Secretary to the Ministry of Irrigationand Water Resources Management, Eng. R.W.R Pemasiri– Secretary to the Ministry of Highways, Ports and Shippingand Eng. Janaka Kurukulasuriya – Additional Secretary tothe Ministry of Urban Development made presentations ofprojects under their purview. Media personnel from the printand electronic media attended the event.Eng. Shavinranath Fernando - President of the IESL, Eng.S.B Wijeykoon – President Elect of IESL, Eng. RanjithGunawardana – Past President of IESL and Chairman of theMedia Liaison Committee of the IESL addressed the audi-ence at the event. Eng. Madhawa Perera – member of theMedia Liaison Committee of the IESL and Mr. AriyaRubasinghe – Veteran Media personality moderated the Q& A session.

IESL Membership Drive atPeradeniya

The IESL Membership Driveat the Faculty of Engineer-ing, University of Peradeniyafor this year was held on 2April 2014. At this annualevent, 444 Engineering un-dergraduates lodged their ap-plications for the StudentMembership.

An awareness programmeabout the activities of theIESL, different classes ofmembership, how to becomea Member, benefits for themembers etc. was con-ducted in parallel with theMembership Drive. Eng.S.B. Wijekoon, PresidentElect, represented the IESLand made a presentation andanswered many quarriesmade by the students. Prof.Leelananda Rajapaksha,Dean of the Faculty and Eng.W.R.M.U. Wickramasinghe,University Liaison Officerwere also present.The event was organized bythe IESL Student Chapter atPeradeniya.

IESL holds MediaAwareness Seminar

on“The Way To Excellence inEngineeringJournalism”


What do you know about ATMs?by Eng. Tharindu Weerasinghe

[MSc.Eng, BSc.Eng(Hons), C|EH, MIEEE, AMIESL]

Almost all of us use ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) to withdraw money from our bank accounts. It is the mostconvenient way to withdraw money when you run out of them; otherwise we could have waited in long queues inbanks to get it done. ATMs can be used not only to withdraw money but also to check the account balance, to do

account transfers, and more sophisticated machines can be used to deposit cash and cheques.

Do you know how does an ATM work? This article brings you a simple overview of an ATM; its components and features.

Basic Information of ATMs:

An Automated Teller Machineis an electronic device thatis connected to the relevantfinancial institute’s networkvia a telephone connectionwhich allows the customersto do some transactions.

How do you interact with anATM? As you know, you willinput your ATM card; then youwill enter the PIN accordingto the provided instructionsand then proceed. An ATMmachine has two factor au-thentication that means youneed to enter your plasticcard (with a magnetic strip oran inbuilt chip) and also thePIN. (Another famous two fac-tor authentication scheme isuser name and passwordswhere you can see in manysoftware applications)

Therefore, a basic ATM hastwo input devices (the cardreader and keyboard). Butsome modern machines mayhave a slot to insert cash orcheques; then there will bethree input devices. It has fouroutput devices as well. Theyare, the display screen,speaker, receipt printer andspeaker. The card readerread the information stored onthe magnetic strip on theback of an ATM card. Thehost computer uses this in-formation to route the trans-action to the relevant bank.An ATM card can be seen inseveral formats like debit,credit and affinity. Anyhowthey belong to three majorcategories like VISA, MAS-TER and AMEX.

An ATM card contains theunique card number andsome security information.The ATM machine is con-nected to a host computerplaced much closer to theATM machine; that computeris connected to the Bank’scomputer. In a nutshell thenATM machine is connectedto the bank network via thesecomputers.

What happens when youdo request a cash with-drawal?

First you need to enter thecard and PIN. Then the ATMforwards this information tothe computer (host proces-sor) nearby, which routes thetransaction request to thecardholder’s bank or the in-

stitution that issued the card.The bank needs to verify theinformation.

• If the customer isgoing to withdraw cash (therequest is a withdrawal), thenthe host processor allows anelectronic funds transfer fromthe customer’s bank accountto the host processor’s ac-count.

• Once the funds aretransferred to the hostprocessor’s bank account,the processor sends an ap-proval code to the ATM autho-rizing the machine to dis-pense the cash.

Inside of an ATM machine:

An ATM consists of thefollowing devices:

• CPU (to control theuser interface and transac-tion devices)

• Magnetic and/orChip Card Reader (toidentify the customer)

• PIN Pad (similar inlayout to a Touch tone orCalculator keypad), oftenmanufactured as part of asecure enclosure.

• Secure crypto-processor, generally withina secure enclosure.

• Display (used bythe customer for performingthe transaction)

• Function keybuttons (usually close tothe display) or aTouchscreen (used to selectthe various aspects of thetransaction)

• Record Printer (toprovide the customer with arecord of their transaction)

• Vault (to store theparts of the machineryrequiring restricted access)

• Housing (foraesthetics and to attachsignage to)

Software used in ATMs:ATM machines typically getthe help of the operating sys-tems like OS/2, RMX, Linuxand Windows based operat-ing systems to function. Dueto standardization most of the

ATMs are using the XSF plat-form.

XSF: eXtensions for Finan-cial ServicesThis provides a common APIor client server architecturefor accessing and manipulat-ing the various devices of anATM regardless of the manu-facturer.

Notable ATM software thatoperates on XFS platforms:

Triton PRISM, DieboldAgilis, CR2 BankWorld,KAL Kalignite, NCR Corpo-ration Aptra Edge, PhoenixInteractive VISTAatm,Wincor Nixdorf Protopas.

Typical XSF based ATM architecture:

you see it as EPP. Usinga cryptographic algorithm,the EPP performs a vari-ety of operations, includ-ing DES (Data EncryptionStandard), Triple DES and

Security mechanism inATMs:As mentioned earlier, thereis a two factor authentica-tion mechanism. The ATMcard and PIN. Both are com-patible to each other. ThePIN will be encrypted by thespecial cryptographic pro-cessors placed in EPP (En-cryption PIN Pad). If you re-fer the diagram which illus-trates the inside of the ATM

MAC (Message Authentica-tion Code). This encryptedPIN will be sent to the hostcomputer together with thecard number for authentica-tion.

Hope this article brought yousome basic knowledge onATMs and their functions. Youcan read more online mate-rial if you are interested inATM functionality.

Images and some informa-tion courtesy of:

http://www.pg.gda.pl/~mickowal/IE/bankomaty_eng.pdfhttp://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/banking/atm.htmhttp://www.vendingroutesforsale.net/atm-route-annapolis-maryland.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CEN/XFS


An Essential but Simple Change Necessary in Seats ofPublic Transport Buses

Buses contribute to over 75% of the passenger transport need in the country. Therefore proper precautions in respect of health affecting factors inbuses, is very important.

What I expect to highlight here is the incorrect installation of seats in all buses, which leads to bad backbone problems of passengers.

The seats are in parallel to the floor board in buses. However, due to the camber in the road, the bus (and its floor board) is not in the horizontal plane, butit is in a certain inclination to the horizontal plane. Generally roads with asphalt surface, are having a slope of about 2.5%.

Due to this angle, the bus is also having a certain inclination which is over the slopingangle of road cross section. The angle of such inclination of the bus is generally,more than the angle of road. This is because of several reasons as described below.

1. Due to slope of road, reaction of 4 supporting points (wheels) become unequal.The wheels in lower elevation (LHS wheels) have to bear higher load than wheels inhigher elevation (RHS wheel). Then LHS of bus goes further down words.

2. Due to heavily crowded situations in buses, LHS load is higher thanRHS load. This also leads to further pushing down of the LHS of thebus.

F1 & F2 are friction forces

3. Due to continuous occurrence of above two situations, shock-absorbersof LHS get weakened. This leads to further pushing down of the LHS of bus.

We can see that, none of the above factors are incompensative way but all are in cumulative condition. Thebus therefore will have a higher angle of inclination, towardsLHS, than the slope in road (camber).

Due to this inclination, passengers seated in the RHS seats,get a force which is non-vertical and also it does not passthrough the centre of gravity of the body.(body weight actingvertically, but reaction of seat is non-vertical, and a smallfriction force is also there. These 3 forces are not passingthrough a common point, i.e. imbalanced loads). Then thepassenger has to create a moment to stay in the posi-tion. This moment is generated by the backbone. This ac-tion causes a very uncomfortable situation for the passengerand undergoing that situation for a long time might lead tobackbone pains. This kind of unbalanced forces acting for along period, is very harmful for the backbone. Furthermore,the backbone has to bear the shocks and vibrations causedby the bus, while generating this moment.

To avoid such uncomfortable situations, only a very simple change is required in theseat installation. It is needed to fix seats in RHS side of bus, to an angle of about 5% in theopposite direction of which the bus is inclined. Since the width of a seat is about 0.9 m (i.e.2 passengers seat), 50mm (2 inch) rise in LHS support of RHS seat is good enough. In casethe seat is about 1.3 m wide (i.e. 3 passengers seat) this rise shall be 75mm (3 inch).

The above issue is generally not a problem to the passengerswho are seated in the LHS seats. This is because, they get alateral support from the bus body and hence automaticallyforces acting on the body come to be in equilibrium. Thereforeno moment generation is required. Hence, no alteration in seatinstallation is required at LHS of bus.

by Eng. S.T.D.O. WarapitiyaB.Sc.Eng.(Hons), AMIE(SL), (AM-6701)

LHS Support

Seat in RHS of bus

Here, the inclination of the bus,has been exaggerated for clarity.


Contd. from page 4....

CKD affecting....less exposed to agrochemi-cals have a low incidence ofCKDu. It is possible to re-duce the incidence of CKDuby consuming clean waterand making people less ex-posed to harmful toxins. Itmay be possible to slow theprogression of CKDu by giv-ing people clean water andensuring reduced exposureto harmful toxins.

There are a number of waysof providing clean water:

1. Use water from naturalsprings.2. Harvesting rain water.3. Using filters to removetoxins.

Rain water is the purest formof naturally occurring water.Rain water harvesting isused in many countries todeal with shortage of water.Rain water harvesting pro-vides a sustainable solutionfor the clean water crisis af-fecting the dry zone. It doesnot require expensive foreignmade membranes or com-plicated maintenance proce-dures. However only dwell-ings with metal or tile roofsare suitable for rain waterharvesting. In the NCP of SriLanka, with an average rainfall of around 900 mm peryear, it is possible to meet

the water needs of a family offive, by using a storage tank of8000L. A rain water harvestingsystem comprising a 8000Lstorage tank could be con-structed for around Rs 72000.The cost of dialysis for a personfor a month is in excess of Rs50000. From the cost point ofview, it would be logical to spendmoney on rain water harvestingsystems than on dialysis. Thestorage tanks could be con-structed using local materialsand local labour. Further informa-tion could be obtained fromLanka Rainwater Harvesting Fo-rum. However, these systemsneed regular maintenance toprevent the water being contami-nated by organic matter. Thewater also has to be boiled tokill off any bacteria.

The problems to be overcomewhen using rain water harvest-ing systems are minor comparedto the suffering one has to face,if affected by CKD. Along withconsumption of clean water,need to prevent toxins enteringthe body has to be introducedto the affected people by meansof an awareness campaign. Po-tential end users need to beeducated on the benefits of rainwater harvesting as a means ofreducing the risk of being af-fected by CKDu.

Usually filters output clean wa-ter and separate toxins. Filtersaccumulate toxins on one side.However, disposal of toxins

safely present a problem.It is expensive to disposetoxic waste products. If thewaste products from filtersare not disposed of safely,then the waste productswould contaminate the en-vironment. It brings us backto the original problem:Should toxins be intro-duced into the environ-ment? It would be immoralto pass on the decontami-nation of the toxins to thenext generation. Further itis immoral to contaminatethe living space of poorfarmers who produce therice for the nation.

Another important thing isto implement the recom-mendations made by DrShanthi Mendis in herWHO Progress Report 13Feb 2012. Extract from herreport is given below:

1. strengthening the insti-tutional arrangements forthe implementation, intersectoral coordination,monitoring and evaluationof control of pesticides andfertilizer. Pollution of envi-ronment with agrochemi-cals cannot be controlledby a single agency. Con-trol activities should in-clude necessary amend-ments to existing legisla-tion and regulation and pro-cesses and control mea-sures should be monitoredusing sensitive indicators.

2. Increasing the publicawareness of the adversehealth effects of agro-chemicals. The generalpublic should be madeaware of the actions takento control agrochemicalsand the importance of ap-plying safety and controlmeasures. Health educa-tion Programmes shouldfocus on high risk occupa-tions including farmers,vendors and also ex-panded to involve schoolchildren and the public atlarge.

In my view, as a CharteredEngineer who has dealtwith health and safety,these two recommenda-tions are extremely impor-tant and has to be takenvery seriously.Environmental safety hasto be taken seriously andharmful toxins should bebanned, along with regularmonitoring of the environ-ment to determine anysources of contamination.Alternatives to the use ofpesticides such as organicfarming and biological pestcontrol such as the use offrogs and snails need tobe investigated. Excessiveuse of agrochemicals couldalso damage the soil.

Clearly the impact of agro-chemicals on the environment,on animals and humans hasto be investigated and under-stood.

It is thought that farmers useexcessive amounts of pesti-cides, weedicides andfertiliser. These agrochemicalsare known to contain harmfultoxins such asarsenic, cadmium, lead, mer-cury, propanil and the insecti-cide chlorpyriphos. Thesechemicals end up in the envi-ronment. Eventually, toxinsend up in streams, soil, reser-voirs, plants, fish and in thebody of humans and animals.There is a possibility that longterm exposure to harmfulchemicals, even at low levelscould precipitate CKD. Thispossibility need further inves-tigation. A high percentage ofurine samples tested had de-tectable levels of certain pes-ticide residues, In the urine ofpeople wrlh CKDu (WHO re-port).It is also known that drinkingclean water free of toxins re-duce the incidence of CKDu.It is prudent to ban harmfultoxins to be used in fertiliserand other agrochemicals.Agrochemicals need to bemonitored regularly to deter-mine if banned substances arein use. Further the environ-ment need to be monitored forsources of contamination andthe source of contaminationeliminated.

Bandara et al reports that:Concentrations of nine heavymetals were determined insediments, soils of reservoirperipheries, water andNelumbo nucifera (lotus)grown in five major reservoirsthat supply irrigation water. Allfive reservoirs carried higherlevels of dissolved cadmium(Cd), iron (Fe) and lead (Pb).Water from five major reser-voirs in NCP were examinedby the research team. All fivereservoirs carried higher levelsof dissolved cadmium (Cd),iron (Fe) and lead (Pb).

There are some lessons thatcould be learnt from the asbes-tos safety debate. Initially sci-entists said that there was asafe level of exposure, thresh-old limit value (TLV) for asbes-tos. Gradually, on the basis ofevidence, they continuouslybrought the safe level downand ultimately found that thereis no safe limit and even asmall exposure is dangerous.It could be that the safe levelfor Cd and As, currentlythought, may be too high andneeds to be lowered.

On this basis, there is a pos-sibility that long term exposureto even low levels of pesti-cides, weedicides andfertiliser containing harmfulchemicals such as Arsenicand Cadmium could be con-

sidered high risk factors.Longer duration signifi-cantly increasing the riskof suffering from CKDu.

A study on water quality inNCP, by Perera (2006) andWickramaarachchi (2005)reported the occurrence ofdetectable quantities of theweedicide propanil and theinsecticide chlorpyriphos inreservoirs. These findingsindicate that the water inthe NCP areas is likely tobe contaminated with agro-chemicals.

It is a well established factthat the metals Cd, Pb andmercury (Hg) cause renaldysfunction both on acuteand chronic exposure(Middendorf and Williams2000 ). Bandara et al hasindicated that Cd and Pbappear to be the most criti-cal heavy metals that wouldrelate to the existing renaldysfunction in the region.Others have linked Arseniccontamination to be a pos-sible cause.

There is a possibility thatlong term dietary expo-sure over the years re-sults in accumulation ofCd and arsenic levelswhich lead to chronicrenal failure.R e s e a r c h e r sJayasumana et al havereported that farmersin the NCP area areheavily exposed to pes-ticides and fertilizers. Itis known that farmersclean contaminatedspraying equipment nearthe field well. Further itis reported that Agro-chemicals are freely andirrationally used andvery little attention isgiven to hazardous ef-fects on human health.Research by Prof. NalindeSilva et al also sus-pect toxins in agro-chemicals could be thecause of CKDu.

People have been livingin the NCP area forthousands of years.CKD became prominentonly after the wide-spread use ofsubsidised agrochemi-cals.. Using the avail-able data, as an Engi-neer, rather than sayingaetiology of CKD is un-known, I would favour ahypothesis that wouldsuspect agrochemi-cals, as suspected bymany researchers, asthe cause. Evidencesuggests that a certainpercentage of the popu-lation are likely to suffer

NOTICE TOENGINEERING

FACULTYUNDERGRADUATES

WRITE TO SLENBe creative! Bring out the writer in you!Have an interesting story to tell? An idea to express? Aquestion to ask, or a comment to make?

Start writing now!The Editor of the Sri Lanka Engineering News (SLEN) news-letter of the IESL invites articles of technical, managerial,artistic or any other nature, even campus humour from you,our engineers-to-be.

The editorial staff of the IESL is ready to support your ini-tiative and give it the best chance of success to be pub-lished in the SLEN.Write a true story of a project, a book review, a policypaper, a poem, or whatever you think will interest your clan.

Send your draft materials (around 1500 words) to; TheEditor, Sri Lanka Engineering News, E-mail:[email protected] can also post your draft article in the YOU ARETHE AUTHOR -WRITE TO SLEN blog in the institutionswebsite www.iesl.lk. For clarifications call PublicityOfficer – IESL, Tel: 2698426 Ext 232.

Editor –‘Sri Lanka Engineering News’




My answer is that we shall wait until that day dawns topromote solar energy for the benefit of the nation. Sec-ond problem is, solar energy is available only during daytime, which is also the non peak time in Sri Lanka unlikeother industrialized nations. Therefore the CEB needsto install generation plants to match the night peak whichis not reduced by the use of solar. Thus the CEB willhave to invest on many idling plants which are capitalintensive. Third reason is the present tariff is based onthe principle of cross subsidizing the bottom end lowerconsumers with the surplus extracted from the heavyusers. If the heavy users move the higher units to solarand consume only the first 120 from the grid, CEB willnot have funds to subsidize the bottom of the pyramid.Fourth reason is associated with the upfront nature ofheavy investment in solar systems, which will hurt oureconomy as we are rather short of foreign exchange,compelling us to borrow further.

Selection of Solar Panels...

Contd. from page 1...

of the public. He also ex-pressed his desire to seemore engineers belonging toSri Lanka and the subconti-nent at the helm of megaprojects being undertaken bythe government.

The Chief Guest for theevent, Eng. Mangala P.BYapa, Chairman – NationalChamber of Exporters of SriLanka and former Chairman/ Managing Director of M/sColombo Dockyards PLC,in his address traced thelegacy of great engineeringexcellence in the country inthe past (as evidenced bysome of those ancient engi-neering feats being existenteven after more than 2.500years) and its erosionthereafter variously due tosubjugation by foreignforces, internal conflicts,natural disaster, etc. leadingto an absolute decline ofsuch excellence in thepresent era. He stressedthe role that schemes suchas the Engineering Excel-lence Awards of the IESLplay in rejuvenating the mo-tivation towards achievingexcellence in professional-ism, recounting the experi-ences of the ColomboDockyards PLC as an orga-nization upon its applicationand subsequent winning the

Engineering Excellence.....

from CKD, depending onvarious factors. The per-centage of people af-fected is likely to increasewith more exposure toagrochemicals. Unknownaetiology favours and pro-motes inaction. Whereasthe hypothesises sus-pecting agrochemicals asthe cause would provideopportunities to takepreventives measuresand then measures couldbe taken to test if this hy-pothesis is true.

Other causes suggestedby researchers are: ex-posure to heat, medica-tions, alchol abuse, ge-netic factors, diet, generalhealth and fluid intake.

It would be prudent toimplement the recom-mendations Dr ShantHiMendis made in herWHO Progress report.

References

Athuralia N. T. C et al(2009) Prevalence ofchronic kidney disease intwo tertiary care hospi-tals: High proportion ofcases with uncertainaetiology. Ceylon MedicalJournal, 54, 23-25.

Amador, J.J et al (2012)Investigation of chronickidney disease in West-ern Nicaragua, BostonUniversity School ofPublialth Retrieved fromhttp://www.caoombudsman.org/docu mentsB U_SummaryReport_August122012.pdf

Bandara, J. M. R. S. et al(2007) Chronic renal fail-ure among farm familiesin cascadeirrigation sys-tems in Sri Lanka associ-ated with elevateddietary cadmium levels inrice and freshwater fish( T i l a p i a ) ? S p r i n g e rScience+Business Me-dia. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10653-007-9129-6#page-1

Bandara H. (2012). FAOblamed for spread ofchronic k idney disease.The Sunday times. Re-trieved from http://www.sundayt imes. lk/


CKD affecting....1 2 1 0 2 1 / n e w s / f a o -blamed-for-spread-of-chronic-kidney-disease-17441.html

Barry-Jester A. (2012) Askidney disease killsthousands acrosscontinents, scientistsscramble for answers.The center for publicintegrity Retrieved fromh t t p : / /www.publicintegrity.org/2012/09/17/10855/kid-ney-disease-kills-thou-sands-ac ross -con t i -n e n t s - s c i e n t i s t s -scramble-answers

Chatterjee R, Sri Lankakidney disease blamedon farm chemicals.BBC. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19628295

4. Chandrajith R et al(2010) Chronic kidneydiseases of uncertain eti-ology (CKDue)in Sri Lanka: geographicdistribution and environ-mental implicationsS p r i n g e rScience+Business Me-dia Retrieved fromh t t p : / /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20853020

Handunnetti D, (2012)Agrochemicals blamedfor chronic kidney diseasein Sri Lanka. Scidevenet.Retrieved from http://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/agrochemi-cals-blamed-for-chronic-kidney-disease-in-sri-l a n k a - 1 . h t m l

Jayasumana M.A.C.S ertal (2013) Possible link ofChronic arsenic toxicitywith Chronic Kidney Dis-ease of unknown etiologyin Sri Lanka. Journal ofNatural Sciences Re-search. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iiste.org/Jour-nals/index.php/JNSR/ar-ticle/viewFile/4193/4246Jayasinghe, R (2013)CKDu Slide showRetrieved fromh t t p : / /www.s l ideshare.net /ranila/ck-du

Katakey R, Chaudhary A(2013) Cancer ExpressCarries Sufferers of India’sDeadly Waters.. Bloomberg.Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/

Mendis, S (2012)Chronic KidneyDisease of UncertainAetiology (CKDU) SriLanka. Progress Report13. WHO

Mullriyawa, R. (2013)Chronic KidneyDisease of UncertainOrigin in the Dry Zone(CKDu). The Island.Retrieved from http://w w w . i s l a n d . l k /index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=85230Ranasinghe P et al,(2010) The costs inprovision ofhaemodialysis in adeveloping country.BMC Nephrol. 2011Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p m c / a r t i c l e s /P M C 3 1 8 9 0 9 7 /Silva, A, (2014) SriLanka: Stop HoodwinkingThe Public Over Kidney

D i s e a s e .Colombo TelegraphRetrieved from https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/srilanka-stop-hoodwinking-the-publ ic-over-k idney-disease/

Silva, N et al ChronicKidney Disease ofunknown etiology(CKDu) and Arsenicpoisoning due to Illegalpesticides Retrievedfromhttp://www.kln.ac.lk/m e d i c i n e / d e p t s /f o r e n s i c / i m a g e s /s t o r i e s / q u e s _ 1 /arsenic_and_ckdu.pdf

Wanigasuriya et al.(2011) Chronic kidneydisease of unknowna e t i o l o g yin Sri Lanka: is cad-mium a likely cause?BMC Nephrology Re-trieved fromhttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2369/12/32

WHO/ Minisry of Health(2013) Investigationand Evaluation ofChronic Kidney Dis-ease of Uncertain Aeti-ology in Sri Lanka Finalreport. WHO/Minisry ofHealth Sri Lanka

Contd. from page 6...

Benefits of the above system are,1. Traffic flow can be distributed.2. Off at 6.00 pm and quickly go home is muchbetter than trapped in the traffic and go home beyond6.00pm.3. Since Students have 3 off days, they can studytheir subjects and do the home work.4. Wednesday can be a common day for both itcan be used for any other purposes between schoolsand offices.(Starting time can be shifted if necessary)

Can it be a Solution...

award for Excellence inEngineering Awards forOrganizations. Recogni-tion of excellence in pro-fessionalism in its turnbreeds excellence in pro-fessionalism he stated.

President Elect of IESLand Chairman of the Or-ganizing Committee forthe Engineering Excel-lence Awards, 2014, Eng.S.B.Wijekoon made adetailed presentation ofthe awards on offer. TheQuestion and Answersession that followed pro-vided clarifications re-quired by the audience.

The event was also theoccasion for the handingover of the token of spon-sorship to the main spon-sor for the event, M/sMelwire Rolling (Pvt)Ltdwith its Director - Mr.M u r u g a n a n d h a nPeriyasami Pillai in atten-dance to receive the tokenfrom the President of theIESL.The Vote of Thanks wasdelivered by Eng. (Prof.)Niranjanie Ratnayake,Vice President of IESLand the event concludedwith the refreshments thatfollowed.


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