When engineer D. J. Wimalasurendra was sent to Aberdeen Laxapana falls by the British government in order to discover gold, he saw the possibility of hydropower generation.

When the proposal of hydropower generation in Ceylon was presented to the British government, Wimalasurendra had to face strong rejections.

National patriots and journalists joined D. J. Wimalasurendra and protested requesting the government to execute the hydropower generation project.

As a result, in 1924, Laxapana Hydro Power Scheme was commenced, but shortly stopped due to weak government patronage.

Wimalasurendra the founding father of hydroelectricity in Sri Lanka Great sons of Galle - Article Publish on The Island News Paper (30/07/2020) Born in 1874 in Galle, as the eldest son of master craftsman Mudaliyar Don Juan Wimalasurendra, He received his education at Ananda College, Colombo and joined the Ceylon Technical College in 1893, while working as an apprentice at the Government Factory.

Having had his initial proposals on hydro power ignored by the Engineering Association of Ceylon he constructed the first small hydro power station in Ceylon, at Blackpool, between Nanu Oya and Nuwara Eliya, to supply electricity to the town of Nuwara Eliya.

When engineer D. J. Wimalasurendra was sent to Aberdeen Laxapana falls by the British government in order to discover gold, he saw the possibility of hydropower generation.

When the proposal of hydropower generation in Ceylon was presented to the British government, Wimalasurendra had to face strong rejections.

[4] National patriots and journalists joined D. J. Wimalasurendra and protested requesting the government to execute the hydropower generation project.

As a result, in 1924, Laxapana Hydro Power Scheme was commenced, but shortly stopped due to weak government patronage.

[5] In 1931 he was elected to the State Council of Ceylon from Ratnapura, he held the seat for four and a half years and served in the Executive Committee of Works and Communication.