A 9 reopens

The A 9 road is now open to the public and commercial traffic. The first buses transporting civilians from Jaffna to Colombo used the road yesterday.

The Security Forces liberated the entire A 9 road in January this year but demining activities prevented the authorities from opening the road earlier. It was opened recently for military traffic.

The Colombo-Jaffna bus fare is likely to be around Rs.325. The road was open during the ceasefire period, but the LTTE levied heavy ‘taxes’ on users and earned millions of rupees a month. When the conflict intensified the road was closed on August 11, 2006, to prevent any harm to civilians.

The A 9 opening will benefit traders in both the North and the South. A recent meeting between the two sides highlighted the potential of the A 9 re-opening. Those traveling to Jaffna will also benefit immensely through the drastically reduced bus fare, as opposed to the air fares.