Essential goods for Jaffna on A 9

JAYASIRI MUNASINGHE and SAMANMALIE PRIYASHANTHI

Essential food stocks for IDPs in the North would be transported through the land route utilising the A-9 road from March 9.

Earlier goods had to be shipped to the North due to security reasons

The decision to open the land route was taken at a high level meeting presided by Presidential Senior Advisor Parliamentarian Basil Rajapaksa yesterday. Ministers Douglas Devananda and Richard Bathiutheen and Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister Maheepala Herath attended the meeting among others.

According to this decision a fleet of 20 lorries laden with food items will leave the Orugodawatta Stores Complex for the Jaffna Kainadi stores complex on Monday March 9 morning. The checking and the transport exercise will be jointly handled by the Army and the Police.

In return vegetables, fruits, tobacco and other products will be brought down from Jaffna to Colombo along the A-9 highway. This will enable people in the south to purchase items like tomatoes, beans, potatoes, bananas, pumpkin grown in Jaffna at reasonable prices providing a ready market to the Jaffna farmer.

Addressing yesterday's meeting Basil Rajapaksa MP said the new transport service would help renew mutual confidence among the people of the North and South. Social Services and Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda said the farmer community in Jaffna will enjoy a new market for their produce. Cheaper produce from Jaffna would also help ease the cost of living burden.

Essential services commissioner S.B. Divaratne said earlier 2000 metric tones of essential food items had to be shipped to Jaffna weekly incurring a heavy expenditure on the exercise. Initially 20 lorries would be utilised for transporting goods. Another 25 lorries would be added to the fleet on March 23. They hope to increase the fleet to 150 lorries in due course.