Trincomalee, now a bustling city:

Road development work expedited under Maga Neguma

By Mohammed NAALIR

Roads in dilepidated condition, a thing of the past

The Kantalai-Trincomalee road

The Kantalai-Raja-Ela road being carpeted.

The Government has succeeded in developing the infrastructure facilities and implementing livelihood development projects in the country including in the North and the East at a cost of billions of rupees. Compared to other countries in the region, Sri Lanka is reaching its development goals.

Road development work has been expedited under the Maga Neguma program, implemented under the Mahinda Chinthana national development concept.

Education, health and other important sectors have also been developed to the levels of those in developed States.

The Trincomalee district in the Eastern Province is surrounded by Anuradhapura, Batticaloa and Mullaitivu districts.

The Kantalai-Raja-Ela road

There are 11 Pradeshiya Sabhas, two Urban Councils and 230 Grama Niladari Divisions in the district. The area is covered by water resources for around 98 square kilometres. The majority of the population are involved in agriculture and 44 percent of the land in the district is used for agricultural activities. Forests cover 30 percent of the land in the district.

The Kantalai-Trincomalee road is being widened and asphalt carpet surface laid at a cost of Rs. 336,624 million. A major part of the work was over by August 31, according to Highways Deputy Minister Nirmala Kothalawala.

The Deputy Minister said the 45.3 kilometre Kantalai-Trincomalee road has been divided into four sections to expedite the construction work.

The 10.28 kilometre stretch along the Kantalai-Trincomalee road to Ganthalawa and 3.1 km stretch from Farm Junction to Muttur Junction is being widened and asphalt carpeted at a cost of Rs. 864.71 million and 79.6 percent of the work was over on August 31.

He said a 10.72 kilometre stretch from Ganthalawa-Thambalagamuwa is being widened and asphalt carpet surfaced at a cost of Rs. 834.1 million and 65.4 percent of the work was over on August 31.

Road widening

The 12 kilometre long Thambalagamuwa Sardapura road is being widened and asphalt carpeted at a cost of Rs. 719.07 million; 51.2 percent of the work was over on August 31.

The Deputy Minister said a 9.3 kilometre stretch from Sardapura Trincomalee is being widened and asphalt carpeted at a cost of Rs. 948.34 million of which 46.5 percent of the work was completed by August 31.

Deputy Minister Kothalawala said the Kantalai-Raja-Ela road was also carpeted at a cost of several million rupees.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister said that the development work on the Eravur-Punnakuda road began last week.

The Ports and Highways Ministry and Road Development Authority will develop this road at a cost of Rs. 128.6 million with funds from the Government.

There are ‘A’ grade and ‘B’ grade roads in the district. The Ambepussa-Trincomalee road via Kurunegala takes a significant place among these roads. The Puttalam-Trincomalee road and the Batticaloa-Trincomalee road, under the ‘A’ grade category, are also significant among the roads in the region, according to A.C. Nisardeen, Chief Engineer, Road Development Authority, Trincomalee.

Priority was given to the A-6 road because the Prima Factory and Mitsui Cement Factory are located in Trincomalee. The A-6 road will be packaged in to four sections such as Ambepussa to Pothuhera (23km), Pothuhera to Ibbagamuwa (24km), Ibbagamuwa to Galewela (22km), Galewela to Dambulla (21km), Kantalai to Thambalegamuwa(21km), Perattuveli 3km and Thambalagamuwa to Trincomalee 22km.

Trincomalee, which was a ghost city for nearly three decades, has turned into a busy city now. The charming coast is now popular for tourism. Fishing is one of the main occupations of the people in the region. Although the industries in the district were ruined, the district has begun to raise its head again.

The population of the area is 412,457 belonging to 105,155 families. The land area of the district is 272,880 square kilometres.

Road reconstruction

The Trincomalee-Pulmudai road was also reconstructed. The Bogahawewa-Pulmudai road which was in a dilapidated condition was reconstructed at a cost of Rs. 562 million and Rs. 320 million was funded by the Highways Ministry.

The Ministry also spent Rs. 250 million to reconstruct the first seven kilometres along the Trincomalee-Pulmudai road.

The Government successfully reconstructed the bridges on these roads within a short period. Five bridges including Upparu, Iraalkuli, Verugal and Kayangkerni bridges on the Batticaloa-Trincomalee and Elle-Kantalai roads were constructed at a cost of Rs. 10,400 million.

The road development history of this country dates to the colonial era. The colonial rulers wanted to transport coffee, rubber and tea to Colombo for shipment. So they laid roads in the Central Hill Country and the wet zone. The roads in the wet zone are older than the roads in the dry zone.

When Sri Lanka regained independence from British colonialists in 1948, there was a main road system connecting important commercial, administrative and economic hubs of Sri Lanka.

Increase in population

With the increase in population, economic growth and increase in the number of vehicles as a result, the existing road structure had to be expanded while new roads are laid.

For a satisfactory passenger transport service to be provided, the road network should be improved.

After the elimination of the LTTE, there was a need to develop roads in the North and the East to expedite the development of the region. The Government implemented massive road and bridge construction projects, spending huge amounts of money. The road development program of the Government is nearing completion.

The road development project mainly comprised the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing roads. Along the A-6 road, the 44 kilometre stretch between Habarana and Kantalai was already widened and asphalt carpeting laid. The development work of 22 kilometres along the Dambulla-Habarana road is in progress.

Road development plays a pivotal role in the development of the tourism industry. Tourists and devotees who frequently visit Trincomalee, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla and Sigiriya can enjoy the benefits of these road development projects.

Economic standards

The Government implemented various programs in the North and the East to uplift the living and economic standards of the people through the provision of electricity and improving health services, education, housing, transport, industries, agriculture and other infrastructure facilities.

The development of roads in this area has been identified as the initial step of upgrading socio-economic levels. Therefore, the proposed project has become a prime development task to be completed before other projects.

Major development goals are possible only through the development of the road network. The A-6 has already been identified as a potential highway that will support this development program. The A-6 road is extensively used by heavy trucks which transport fish, agro-products and other commodities from the Trincomalee harbour to other parts of the country and in return bring many items to Trincomalee.

Along with the positive impacts, there are certain negative impacts which arise with the development of the road network such as more road accidents and the increase of traffic congestion during construction, increasing migration to the particular area from other parts of the region, disturbances to groups such as schoolchildren, infants and old and sick persons living close to construction sites, the effect on business centres, lands, extended parts of buildings, blocking of access to business places and houses and demolition of parapet walls, gates and fences and utility services and cutting down of trees.