Quality gravel sought for Madhu- Talaimannar rail track

by Mohammed NAALIR

There is a severe shortage of quality gravel at the Madhu-Talaimannar railway line construction site. Quality gravel should be used for the formation base, Project Director, Madhu-Talaimannar railway line laying project M.P. Lalith N. Peiris told the Sunday Observer.

He said construction of the formation base between Madhu and Talaimannar is delayed due to this reason.

Quality gravel has to be brought to the site from distant areas such as Pesalai, Peiris said. Approval of the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) and Forest Department is compulsory to transport gravel.

The GSMB and Forest Department have imposed certain restrictions on mining and transporting gravel, according to the Project Director.

He said the permission of the GSMB and Forest Department is crucial to speed up the construction of the formation base.Granting permission to transport quality gravel to the site should be expedited, considering the national importance of a railway line connecting the South and the North, he said.

A considerable section of the formation base between Madhu and Talaimannar could have been completed by now if quality gravel had been supplied uninterruptedly, Peiris said.