On the evening of May 27, 2011, a group of sexagenarians gathered at the Lake Nest Bolgoda Resort, Gorakana, Moratuwa. The purpose of this unique meeting was to form the belated alumni of the Junior Technical Officers (JTO), a group of young men and women who passed out from the Institute of Practical Technology at Katubedda (IPTK) in the sixties. There were 45 of them. The meeting was informal and the gathering was impromptu. Most of them were retirees.

Those who gathered that evening were of the view that the JTO alumni should undertake community and educational projects from which the country as a whole and the technical/engineering students in particular could benefit. Such activities are to be launched at the 50th Anniversary celebration (of the first JTO graduation from Katubedda) next year, in 2012.

The gathering on May 27 was a heart warming experience. Here were 45 people who were cloistered together at an institute of learning almost half a century ago, in a remote location which was then still part plantation and part scrubland on the shores of the Bolgoda Lake. Although most of them spent time together only for two or three years, at the threshold of adulthood, that early association formed enduring bonds of comradeship. Renewal of such experiences after nearly fifty years was not only delightful, but fascinating too.

Katubedda and its environs, Lunawa, Moratuwa, Piliyandala and the Galle Road, have all changed beyond recognition from what they were in the sixties. And so has the Institute of Practical Technology. Yet the people who met that night, for all the ravages of time, were still the young, jovial and delightful crowd they once were. Mischievous and incorrigible some may have been, but for all their misdemeanours, they were a gentle and an honourable group of people. At first, some were not recognisable for age had taken her toll. Yet, after a few moments of deep scrutiny those long lost youthful faces came to the surface breaking through the wrinkled mask of age leading to warm bear-hugs and an occasional shed of a tear.

It is estimated that there would be around 1000 JTOs who passed out from Katubedda in the sixties decade. With most of them now being in their sixties or seventies, 2012 would be the ideal year for a grand get-together. To facilitate this event and to communicate with each other leading up to the event, the following website has been set up: www.jto60.webs.com

(or https://sites.google.com/site/jtosofthe60s when using a slow internet connection) It is expected that those who read this press release will not only visit this website, but pass on this message to their former colleagues and make the 2012 gathering of the JTOs of the 60s, a grand event.

Administrator - JTOs of the 60s
jtoalumni@gmail.com
Capt. SISIRA PERERA
No.11, Siripa Lane, Colombo 5.
Tel: 011 2811582 / 011 2583132 /
011 2824741
Mobile: 077 2914953