Suppiramaniam Mahadeva was a leading

Ceylon Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province an ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and Director of the Public Works Department in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Early life

Mahadeva was born on 5 May 1893. He was the son of Suppiramaniamam, a leading resident from

Manipay Manipay or Maanippaai () is a town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The original name of Manipay is Periyapulam. It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) came to Sri Lanka in the 19th century. Dr. Samuel Fisk ...

. Mahadeva married Meenambi Ammai, daughter of Chelliah Pillai. They had one son - Nadarah.

Career

After leaving school Mahadeva joined the Public Works Department (PWD) in 1910 as a draughtsman. Two years later he moved to the PWD's Technical Services department. In 1920, after gaining suitable qualifications, he was promoted to an Inspector. Successive promotions saw him being appointed District Engineer in 1924, Engineering Assistant to the Director in 1930 and Chief Engineer (Designs) also in 1930. He was involved in many of the significant engineering projects of the period. He was also placed in charge of the newly created Water Works Branch of the PWD. Mahadeva was appointed Assistant Director of the PWD in 1944. In 1945 he was appointed Director, a post he held until retirement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahadeva, S. 1893 births Year of death missing People from Manipay Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan civil engineers