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‘Ada Derana-Dialog JanaWeera Sammana’ rewards brave SLTB conductor and driver
The first two recipients of the ‘Ada Derana-Dialog JanaWeera Sammana’ were Manjula Umayangana (28) and Ranjith Thilakasiri (51), the conductor and driver of the SLTB bus who helped avert a major disaster in Colombo last Tuesday. They received their medals and rewards from Hasrath Munasinghe, Head of Marketing - Dialog Mobile, on live television during the Ada Derana broadcast of September 17.
Derana together with Dialog Telekom has launched this awards programme to recognize and reward significant acts of civilian bravery.
"Our nation should be proud of Manjula and Ranjith – they have displayed courage and character in their exemplary actions. Their concern for the safety of their fellow citizens is indeed very admirable. We are pleased to present this small token of appreciation to these two men, not merely as a reward but as a recognition and acknowledgement of our respect. We salute them" said Laksiri Wickramage, Chairman of Derana.
Nushad Perera, Chief Marketing Officer of Dialog Telekom said "These two men set a fine example to all Sri Lankans of the qualities needed at this hour – being alert to your environment; being calm and rational; being civic-minded and being brave. If everyone aspires to these, I am sure any future terrorist attack can be thwarted by civilians themselves. The "Ada Derana-Dialog JanaWeera Sammana" award is our way of encouraging such bravery".
The recipients Manjula and Ranjith were the conductor and driver of the ill fated 155 bus belonging to the CTB depot in Mattakkuliya, which was wrecked by a bomb. The two men were responsible for detecting the suspicious parcel left under a seat, and for taking immediate action to evacuate their passengers. They also ensured that the bus was driven to a place where an explosion would cause minimal damage to those passing by. As a result of their brave action, the powerful explosion only caused minor injuries to one person.
