Buses aplenty for Avurudhu home bound

Sandasen MARASINGHE

Colombo Central Bus Stand Manager Sarath Premalal said yesterday that more than 100 additional buses have been deployed to remote areas for the convenience of those going to the village for the Avurudhu festivities.

He stated that these buses have been deployed for destinations such as Anuradhapura, Kataragama, Batticaloa, Balangoda, Badulla, Embilipitiya etc. If there are more commuters, the Central Bus Stand has made arrangements to provide them with additional buses.

Premalal said the Sinhala New Year is still a few days away and the number of passengers leaving Colombo city is not very high. They are expecting a large number of passengers on April 11, 12 and 13 and the Central Bus Stand has plans to cater to the demand.

He said the only service for the passengers to Kataragama, Ampara and Badulla is the Central Transport Board Service as the private bus owners did not provide their buses since it was not very profitable.

K. M. Perera of Keselwatta, Panadura, waiting at the bus stand to leave for Panadura said he came to Colombo for business in the morning by bus without trouble. He said he was pleased as the queue for the Panadura bus was shorter.

Another passenger S. D. Abeygunawardena of Ayagama, Ratnapura said he boarded at Peliyagoda and was employed in the private sector. He had been waiting for nearly one hour at the bus stand for a bus. He said although there were plenty of buses bound to Badulla, Balangoda and Embilipitiya they were not taken by those buses as Ratnapura was a closer destination.