The Residence of Felix Dias Bandaranaike
The very second house in Maha Nuge Gardens was the residence of the hugely influential and powerful politician, Felix Dias Bandaranaike, nephew of Prime Ministers Solomon Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Felix Dias Bandaranaike was Minister of Justice in the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Administration, from 1970 to 1977, when the SLFP won the elections. His residence was heavily guarded by the Sri Lankan Army when the JVP launched a (failed) revolution in April 1971 after installations came under attack in Colombo. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike and politicians have all visited Justice Minister Felix Dias Bandaranaike, at his residence, in the early 1970s.
Finance Minister of the Government of Sri Lanka, Dr. Sarath Amunugama speaking in Colombo in 2005 said:Many of us here will also recall those lovely birthday and Christmas parties at Maha Nuge Gardens or Gamini Wickramanayake's Farm in Navinna where FDB went out of his way to make us all feel at home. Those are memories we share of a colossus of the politics of his time whose life was tragically cut short.
Samuel(Sammy)Dias Bandaranaike, cousin of the Prime Minister of Ceylon, S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike, owned several properties in Maha Nuge Gardens. He worked for several years in the Agricultural Department in Sri Lanka and was very much a charismatic figure in the local community.
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