Civil Engineering Department ordered to find alternative ways to ease Kandy’s traffic woes

Wasantha RAMANAYAKE

COLOMBO: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Civil Engineering Department of the Engineering Faculty, the University of Peradeniya to find alternative ways of easing the traffic problem in Kandy.

The Kandy Municipal Council agreed to suspend the scheme scheduled to be implemented on June 1, until the final determination of the application.

The court made the direction when a Fundamental Rights Application was filed by a resident of Old Peradeniya Road, retired school principal Ranjith Wijesinghe against the proposed one way traffic scheme along the old Peradeniya Road and William Gopallawa Mawatha in Kandy.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC with Justice Nimal Gamini Amaratunga and Justice Andrew Somawansa.

The Court granted leave to proceed with the application.

The petitioner submitted that the Kandy Municipal Council in connivance with the Police started the new one way traffic scheme in January.

In terms of the new scheme, the old Peradeniya road was restricted to vehicles going to the Kandy City from Peradeniya direction and vehicles going out of the city towards Peradeniya should only take the William Gopallawa Mawatha.

The petitioner stated that although the two roads were parallel to each other they had only four inter-connections.

He stated that the dearth of inter-connections made it extremely difficult for around 28,000 students of 10 schools and 5,000 people who would frequent the number of private channel centres and a hospital along old Peradeniya road to get into William Gopallawa Mawatha and vice-versa.

The Kandy Municipal Council had quashed its own resolution on February 23, and reverted to the old traffic system following the chaotic situation created by the new arrangement.

The petitioner stated that the Kandy Municipal Council resolved to re-implement the system without having the necessary infrastructure, the development of the existing inter connections, construction of new inter connections, fly overs and tunnels that had been identified, by the respondents themselves when they abandoned the one way system last February.

The petitioner sought a court declaration that the implementation of the new traffic system without the necessary infrastructure was in violation of his rights and compensation in one million rupees. He also sought a declaration that the Kandy Municipal Council may implement the system after having the infrastructure.

Wasantha Wijewardane appeared for the petitioner.

L.C. Senevirathne PC appeared for the respondents.

The case will be mentioned on July 30.