The government has decided to bestow state honours on the late Dr.A.T.Ariyaratne, founder of Sarvodaya. His last rites will be performed on the 20 at 4 pm at the Independence Square in Colombo, with full state honours.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has directed State Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Ministry Secretary Pradeep Yasaratne to oversee the necessary arrangements for the state honours.
Dr.Ariyaratne’s body will be kept at the Sarvodaya headquarters in Moratuwa till 12 noon on Saturday (20). The cortege will be taken to Independence Square later that afternoon.
He passed away while undergoing treatment at a private hospital at the age of 92.
Born on November 5, 1931, in the Unawatuna area of the Galle district, he was an alumnus of Galle Mahinda Vidyalaya. It was during his tenure as a teacher at Nalanda Vidyalaya in Colombo that he founded the Sarvodaya Shramadana Foundation. The movement, conceived in the 1950s, has grown to become the largest non-governmental organisation in Sri Lanka, operating across the country for over six decades.
In recognition of his service through the Sarvodayaa movement, he was honoured with the Sri Lanka Pride Award, the highest accolade for a Sri Lankan, in 2007, and also received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in the Philippines.
Nuwan Kodikara