Galle lady teacher dies from Expressway accident

Galle lady teacher dies from Expressway accident

The incident where a lady teacher from Galle died from an accident recently on Southern Expressway has still become the talk of the day in that area.

While going towards her Walahanduwa home from Galle in a van this lady teacher aged 47 years passed away from this accident. Her husband and two children sustained serious injuries in the process. The van in fact was driven by deceased Nirmala's son. Nirmala's husband was seated in the

front seat while her two daughters and Nirmala herself had occupied rear seats. The said accident happened when the van has swerved from the expressway route and crashed on to a lamp-post.

Mrs Nirmala Hettiarachchi was a mother of three and served at Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya in Galle. She was a soft-spoken teacher but treated her profession as a god given duty. This lady teacher contributed in opening the eyes of thousands of children who were her students. She not only shared her knowledge to her students only during school hours as such. Even after school hours she conducted extra classes, thus sharing her knowledge with the students. Students of Janadhipathi School identified her as Nirmala teacher or else as Nirmala 'guruthumiya'.

She was a lady teacher who not only won the hearts of schoolgirls and the staff but non-staff members as well. Nirmala teacher's home town was Karandeniya and had her education at Karandeniya Maadhya Maha Vidyalaya. Mrs. Nirmala who was an active teacher was a staunch active member of Old Girls' Society of that school. She was someone who showed great love to the school where she had her schooling. Nirmala teacher's husband is Ananda Lal. He served at the Railway Department.

The elder daughter of this couple is a university student of Ruhuna University and is in her final year while the son is attached to a private firm. Younger daughter Methuli Dahamsa (13) is studying in year 9 at Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya itself. Just like for other students Nirmala teacher showed much love and devotion to her own three children and to her husband. She did not forget to care and look after her children.

At one time Nirmala teacher's husband was suffering from a heart ailment and for that reason a surgery was on the cards for him. On that occasion she was a shadow behind him. She actually was a woman who could face all challenges. She carried out all her duties on behalf of her husband quite welland it was the only hope of this teacher to see that her two daughters were on the right track in life.

The final few days of the month of December in the year 2018 were slowly passing by. Nirmala teacher was getting ready to go and pay homage to Dalada Maligawa in Kandy with members of her family. About 6 or 7 months ago a new van brought to Nirmala teacher's home. A sister of Nirmala teacher was living in Piliyandala and was living down Akmeemana, Walahanduwa, Senanayaka Mawatha. Pinnaduwa guardpost of Southern Expressway was crow's distance from where they lived. It was to the house of her sister in Piliyandala that Nirmala teacher and her family visited in the van recently bought.

After visiting them they had set off with the sister's family. So early that morning they had come to the sister's home in Piliyandala. Till then it was Nirmala teacher's sister's husband who had been driving the van and subsequently had handed over the steering-wheel to Nirmala's son and advised the son to drive carefully. Nirmala teacher then got ready to go back to Galle once again with her family. It was Nirmala's son who drove the vehicle. As said it was the husband who took the front seat and the two daughters and Nirmala teacher were seated at the rear.

But what occured was something that nobody ever dreamed of. The van in which they were travelling in jerked off the expressway route and crashed on to a lamp-post. Nirmala teacher died from this accident as a result while her husband and three children faced severe injuries. Nirmala teacher was in her 49th year when she passed away Her husband and one daughter and son are receiving treatment at Nagoda hospital. The youngest daughter is under treatment at the intensive care unit of National Hospital, Colombo. With this tragedy, people of  Walahanduwa of Akmeemana are enveloped in sorrow.

With the sudden death of Nirmala teacher school children of Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, staff of the school and villagers are struck with grief. "Aney, mother left us because of me. Mother left us", So said the son to a friend who visited him in hospital. That lamp which  brought light to thousands of schoolgirls has finally dimmed away. The dead body of Nirmala Hettiarachchi teacher was brought to her house in Senanayaka Mawatha, Walahanduwa day-before-yesterday (2) evening. Even by that time, a large crowd comprising teachers of Janadhipathi Vidyalaya, associates and relatives had rocked to Nirmala teacher's home after hearing this sad news. But her husband and her three children are not at home to even have a glimpse of her body because they are hospitalised with injuries as a result of this accident. It is not only the three children and the husband who feels the loss of Nirmala teacher ... thousands of school children who passed through her as well. That lamp has left all of them forever.

-- T. Withanawasam (Imaduwa) --