Veteran journalist Daya Somasiri passes away

2026-01-27 - 08:33

Veteran journalist Daya Somasiri, former Associate Editor and News Editor of the state-owned ‘Dinamina’ newspaper and President of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association, passed away yesterday (Jan. 26). He was 78 years old at the time of his death and was the father of 04 daughters and a son. His remains are lying at his residence at No. 69/14/A, Lakeside Estate, Batuwatta, with the final rites scheduled to be held tomorrow (Jan. 28) at 5.00 pm at the Batuwatta Public Cemetery. Born in Walpola, Ragama, Somasiri began his journalistic journey at the age of 10 with ‘Helabima’. He contributed to children’s publications including ‘Hela Jeewaya’, ‘Mihira’, and ‘Tikiri’, and was the founder and editor of ‘Kreeda Lokaya’, regarded as Sri Lanka’s first dedicated sports newspaper. He started professional journalism as the Ragama correspondent for ‘Aththa’ newspaper under Jackson Senaratne and later held senior editorial roles at several leading newspapers, including ‘Janadina’, ‘Rivira’, ‘Sirilaka’, ‘Esa’, and ‘Sama Samajaya’. In addition to journalism, Somasiri was a skilled sports commentator and served as Secretary of the Sri Lanka Elle Federation. He also held the position of President of the All Ceylon Sinhala Poetry Federation (CSPF) and authored several books, including ‘Anna Anna Handahami’, ‘Ridi Seenuwa’, and ‘Nosidena Mathaka’.