Mar 17, Colombo: Dinesh Sandakelum, the nine-year-old boy from Mahiyangana who plunged into a raging canal and saved the lives of three drowning elders met Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

Sandakelum was fully rewarded for his bravery with a educational scholarship to study at the Nalanda College, a leading boys' school in Colombo recently. Peoples Bank "Sisu Udana" donated Rs. 100,000 and Nalanda Old Boys Association donated Rs. 500,000 for his scholarship.
Education Minister Susil Premajayantha, Ministers Nimal Siripala de Silva and Dinesh Gunawardena, Nalanda Principal Hemantha Premathilaka, Chairman of Peoples Bank, W. Karunajeewa were also present at the occasion.
Picture by Sudath Silva