Panagoda Cantonment is a cantonment located in the Western Province of Sri Lanka . It serves as the regimental headquarters of many regiments of the Sri Lanka Army and is an arsenal . It also houses one of the main Military Hospitals operated by the Sri Lanka Army Medical Corps . It is one of the largest military bases in Sri Lanka.
7-582: Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan , the first Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence took the decision to establish a cantonment in Panagoda in 1949 with the formation of the Ceylon Army that year. In 1950, 350 acres of land was purchased by the government and construction began on 10 October 1952 and was completed in 1959. Prime Minister Wijeyananda Dahanayake ceremonially opened
14-859: The Senate and Minister of Housing and Social Services . Having graduated with a BSc from the University of London , he joined the Ceylon Civil Service and served as a cadet in the Ratnapura Kachcheri in 1925. He went on to serve as the Information Officer of the Ceylon Government during World War 2 in the early 1940s and from 1943 he was served as the Commissioner for Food (Supplies) of
21-594: The Deptpartment of Ceylon Government Supplies in New Delhi, India. In 1947, he became the first Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence of independent Ceylon . In 1952, Vaithianathan resigned from the post of Permanent Secretary, to be appointed by the Governor General to the Senate of Ceylon and appointed Minister of Housing and Social Services in the cabinet of
28-717: The main building on 22 December 1959. Since then it had functioned as a Brigade , the Western Command, the Support Force Command and was re-designated as the headquarters of the 1 Division . On 15 July 1997, it was re-designated headquarters of the 11 Division . On 23 September 2009, the Security Forces Headquarters – South was formed at the Panagoda Cantonment. On 15 November 2012 Security Forces Headquarters – South
35-556: The newly appointed Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala . In 1953, he was also given the Industries portfolio following the resignation of G. G. Ponnambalam , Minister of Industries and Fisheries. Vaithianathan contested the Mannar constituency in the 1956 general election as an Independent, and lost to Federal Party candidate V. A. Alegacone , by polling only 4,857 votes to Alegacone's 6,726 and C. Sittampalam 's 1,078. He
42-511: Was renamed as the Security Forces Headquarters – West . 6°52′11″N 80°02′09″E / 6.86972°N 80.03583°E / 6.86972; 80.03583 This Sri Lanka –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Kanthiah Vaithianathan Sir Kanthiah Vaithianathan CBE (1896–1965) (also spelt Vaidyanathan) was a Ceylonese civil servant, politician, Member of
49-878: Was the president of the Rotary Club of Colombo, patron of the Colombo Tamil Sangam and one of the founders of the Hindu Educational Society which established the Colombo Hindu College . He was elected vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon) Branch in 1952. Vaithianathan, was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1949 New Year Honours and knighted as
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