“I come in a world of iron…to make a world of gold”
Dale Wasserman, Man of La Mancha
ABDUL RAZACK
ÇOLOMBO : A 54-year-old simple and humble man Samantha Fernando, a resident of Modera, Moratuwa, father of three children and a fishmonger by profession has become the talk of the town/ the whole island for his alertness and act of bravery averted a major train disaster along the coastal line.
The good Samaritan, had seen the railway line had a crack and had got separated from the track. He acted swiftly to ensure the passengers safely continue their journey. Realising the consequences, he ran towards the oncoming “Sagarika” express train, showing a piece of red cloth to show to stop the locomotive which was heading for a major mishap. The train operates daily from Beliatta to Colombo Fort, had departed the Beliatta railway station around 4:15 a.m. On an average, this train carries about 2,000 passengers daily. His bold and swift action of showing the red flag to the oncoming speeding Sagarika from the middle of the railway track holding his life to ransom needs to be written in the golden letters as his heroism narrowly saved the whole train with over 2,000 passengers.
Great Gesture shown by Chairman Reno Silva
The Chairman of the Hiru Media Network, Reno Silva, has shown a great gesture by honouring this great hero then and there. His media crew got this heartbreaking incredible story covered pthousands of viewers of Hiru. In recognition of his act of throwing hi life to over two thousand passengers he was given the much-needed recognition and a cash award of one hundred thousand Rupees. Aptly a long interview was taken and telecast covering his heroic action. The national Hero, Samantha Fernando, got the rare opportunity to visit the main office of the Hiru Media Network, located in the East Tower of the World Trade Center on an pspecial invitation extended by the Chairman of Hiru Media Organization to show the act of bravery of Samantha Fernando.
