By: Bernadine Rodrigo
Lately, we have been awfully quick to blame the generations of old for the grave and torturous
situation of our planet in modern times. By now, most of the world has decided that it was the
irresponsible action of the boomers and generations around them that has caused all the
damage, the consequences of which we are forced to suffer every day of our lives. We breathe
poison, species are going extinct, and weather is playing havoc. For all of this, we point our
fingers to those before us.
However, as the song In the Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics which was released in
1988 goes, “every generation, blames the one before”. So, it seems we are simply stuck in a loop
where we throw all the responsibility of the battles we must undergo onto those that came before
us. Blaming instead of solving being human nature, nevertheless, does not of course erase the
fact that some of the fault truly is on them who increased industrialisation and thereby pollution.
Despite this fact, it has to also be noted that there are those of those generations that truly do
care about the conditions of the world we live in. In a country like Sri Lanka, especially, where
most of the great change occurred very rapidly, very recently, those who lived before everything
suddenly became unhealthy can still remember what it was like before and long to see that once
again.
One such person is Dhatusena Senanayake, who not only cares but has also done his level best
to bring about a solution to the problem. His story, while not having been heard too often, is
certainly one that deserves to be. A pioneer in the field in Sri Lanka, Senanayake’s innovation
has not, up to this date, been put to its best use. It has the potential however, to even save the
world.
It all began in 1952, when his father returned after a trip to England. Upon his return, he told
young Dhatusena about the fascinating sight he had seen every morning. All the vehicles that
delivered milk around London were not run by fuel but, by battery. Keeping this in the back of his
mind, the young man completed his schooling and looked towards automobile engineering for his
higher education. He began taking exams at the “AMIMI” institute where in order to pass with a
certificate, he needed to be working at a UK-recognised company. He was given an opportunity
by his uncle to work at his company. His starting job was not at all fancy; all he was permitted to
do was to grease the cars that were there. Slowly, this young man,went on to run his own
company thereafter'
Being substantially accomplished, Senanayake now recalled the memory of his father’s strange
sight. With sufficient research, he quickly learned that Sri Lanka lacked the equipment needed to
conduct a similar sort of project and hence it had never before been done in the history of the
country. He decided for himself that he could do it. Times had changed by the
time Senanayake made the defining decision to reduce the emission from motor vehicles in this
island. Unlike the time when his father made the observation and narrated it simply as a strange
sight, the need for this sight to be a widespread necessity had increased rapidly. The number of
vehicles had skyrocketed, every single one producing more and more greenhouse gases the
longer it stayed switched on. Unlike western countries and industrialised countries like China, our
country has not too many large industries which release harmful gases into the atmosphere, as
put by Senanayake. Our greatest pollutants are our vehicles. He also saw a number of other
great reasons to start up electrical vehicles in Sri Lanka, such as the low maintenance efforts
required by battery-powered vehicles because of the minimal amount of moving parts –
especially when compared with vehicle engines – and low running costs.
He had already thought far and wide about the long-term advantages of this notion, even
including the reduction of the cost borne by the Government in the health sector with thedecrease of asthma patients to be expected with the reduction of the harmfulness of the atmosphere. All he needed was the support of the Government.
A journey begins
Hence, he studied the technology and began his quest to revolutionise transport in Sri Lanka. He
explains the process of conversion as if though it is a piece of cake, which when looked into you
realise, it really is! All that must be done is the removal of the engine from the gear box,
connecting a motor to the Bell housing and the batteries to the motor through the contactor
and the controller. It really is that simple and comes with oh so many advantages!
Yet, EV’s have not caught on and for this too, Senanayake shows the reasons. Firstly, he
mentions that there is the issue of re-charging. Recharging batteries of electric vehicles take an
awfully long time and Senanayake understands the fact. However, being the rational and
calculated man he is, he does not stop at showing the problem. Very clearly, he provides the
solution of having battery replacing stations installed around the country so all that needs to be
done is to simply change the battery for a small price and go on your way. This also creates a job
opportunity where someone, much like the persons who pump gas at fuel stations, can replace
the batteries for you.
The other and biggest problem mentioned by Senanayake and indeed which can be observed by
anyone looking at his story, is that he was given absolutely zero support by government
authorities. This is the fact that makes him the saddest, naturally, because all this work which he
did was for the country itself and ventures like this simply cannot be done privately without the
patronage of the Government. Another similar issue he had to and still has to face is the issue of
the narrow mindset of the people. An example of this is given by Senanayake, when he narrates
the story of how when he was at an inspection of one of his converted vehicles, a man simply
claimed that the vehicle is too dangerous because it could run someone over. While the danger
of getting knocked down does not decrease with an engine being fuel powered, Senanayake had
replied to the man that people are supposed to be walking on the pavement instead of the main
road, leading the man to a loss of words.
Despite these issues, Senanayake did somehow manage to make his vision somewhat of a
reality as early as 1995. With his daughter having been diagnosed with asthma, he simply could
not bear to watch the world decay like this anymore. So, with the employment of his expertise
and the loving support of his wife Sunimal Senanayake, his momentum at the beginning in that
year was considerably great, most likely due to the fact that to get to the point of creating the
vehicle, he did not require any external aid. For his idea, he was given a grant from the American
organisation TIPS, using which he flew to the United States where he was able to meet
technicians and obtain the necessary equipment.
Following his return, he was able to give life to his first electric beast; a formerly diesel-powered
Fargo van which now ran purely on electricity. This creation, his first, is in fact one which he is
immensely proud of because his father, who planted this seed in his mind, was able to witness it
being done before passing on. The van was powered by 24 batteries which were placed
underneath the rear floorboard.
His van was presented to the Minister of Environment who admired it but decided to do nothing about it.
And so began the dawdling and lagging journey Mr. and Mrs. Senanayake had to go
through. The van ran on the roads nevertheless, as there were no issues with regard to
registration of the vehicle. However, this problem did arise in some of his other conversions such
as the three-wheeler and the bicycle which the authorities once again dragged on simply
because they were not bothered about it. After the three-wheeler was made in 1995, it had to
wait until 2004 to get registered.
A small moment to shine came to Senanayake and his “laptop secretary” – his wife who
manages his slides in presentations – when the UNDP recognised the great
innovation. Senanayake was given another grant by a small grant programme of the Global Environment Facility under the project name “Introducing Electric vehicles to Sri Lanka”. For his
efforts, he was given an award in Doha in 2012, at the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) which was also attended by then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon.
Following this, Senanayake increased his scale by converting an old bus which although was
successfully built, was not received well by anybody. Sadly, Senanayake’s genuine and excellent
work has not been given the recognition and support it truly deserves. His story stands as an
example of the lack of desire the Sri Lankan people and their rulers have towards creating a
better tomorrow.
However, Senanayake still has a great deal of hope that at least the younger generations would
try to take forward what he had begun. Senanayake wants no publicity for himself; all he wants is
the world to be a safer place for humanity to breathe in.
