Arrangements underway to facilitate goods transport on A9

Manjula Fernando and Chamikara Weerasinghe

COLOMBO: The Essential Services Commissioner has been directed by the President to work out modalities to facilitate the re-opening of the A9 for goods transport, expected to take place within this week.

"The President has directed the Commissioner to get the SLMM, humanitarian organisations and the private sector to work together on this mission, " a spokesman from the President's Office said, adding however that the goods transport via A9 will largely depend on the LTTE's reactions.

"We don't know if the LTTE will agree to such an arrangement. But if this goes well the road could be opened from time to time to allow goods convoys to pass through," he said, adding that discussions were continuing even at the time to evaluate the situation for a re-opening soon.

The President on Sunday declared that the Government would allow the reopening of the A9 for goods transport to further facilitate the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian assistance to the North-East after reports that the black market was thriving due to the constraints suffered by the closure of the main land supply route to the region. "We plan to open the closed stretch for a just once and then continue from time to time depending on the situation," he said.

The Ministry of Nation Building and the Ministry of Defense are following a directive by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to make arrangements to transport essential items via A9 in case that weather should not permit transport of the goods by the sea.

A Deputy Commissioner of the department said they were prepared to send food items and other goods to civilians in the Jaffna peninsula by lorry once the authorities gave clearance to open the A9.

The essential items are now supplied to the peninsula by ships despite various threats by the LTTE, said the deputy commissioner.

The Government has been able to maintain a steady supply of goods to Jaffna in spite of LTTE threats, said sources at the Ministry of Nation Building.

The Government had so far supplied 35,000 metric tonnes of rice and flour to the peninsula by using sea transport alone, sources said.

The Essential Services Commissioner's Department said several were now in the seas of Jaffna with all supplies on board.