Kinniya's bridge to prosperity

Mohammed NAALIR reporting from Trincomalee

The good old ferry boat docking in one of its last trips

The bridge across the Kinniya Bay

Approach road to the bridge gets the final touches

The prosperity and development of a region depends on the availability of raw materials, labour as well as effective transport facilities.

Development goals cannot be achieved merely by having natural resources and other essential components. There must be a good link between various regions such as roads as well as bridges.

The Kinniya Divisional Secretariat Division located in the Trincomalee district has all gifts of Nature. Even though the Government runs a ferry service heavy vehicles could not be carried to other side. This obstructed rapid development of this area.

But Kinniya now has a brand new bridge that fills this void. After opening this newly constructed bridge an economic renaissance could be achieved while getting maximum benefit from the existing resources.

The Kinniya bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs. 720 million funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Cooperatives Minister Najeeb A Majeed stated that the long felt desire of this community has come to fruition under the Mahinda Chintana.

Even-though the Government introduced different transport systems like canoe, boats, rafts and ferry boats from time to time, a permanent transport route became crucial to cater to this community.

Now the people in Kinniya and its outskirts are preparing to say good bye to the ferry boat ride which was a journey between life and death.

The Sunday Observer talked to passengers and officials who frequently use the ferry boats to get their comments on the construction of new bridge across Kinniya Bay.

Gassaley an employee of the Trincomalee Port travelling by ferry boat daily to get to Sinna Kinniya where busses are available to go to Trincomalee and other parts of the country. After the bridge is opened not only Kinniya residents but also others will benefit, he said.

The Government has inaugurated several development projects in the Eastern Province under the "Eastern Resurgence" (Neganahira Navodaya) Eastern development drive implemented under the Mahinda Chintana national development concept for the sake of the war affected community in the province and the people in the areas like Kinniya, he noted.

Wahabdeen Kalaldeen a retired officer attached to the Kinniya Divisional Secretariat Office said that people of this area travelled across the Kinniya bay amidst immense hardships due to the lack of a proper transport mode.

He said that in the earlier days a passenger had to pay only five cents or ten cents to travel by small canoes through the Kinniya bay but the canoe journey is very risky.

Thereafter, people of this area used rafts. Finally, the RDA started a mechanised ferry boat service. Light vehicles and lorries within a limited weight range could also be ferried from one side to the other side by ferry boats.

With the increase of the population in this area the percentage of the people travelling by ferry boat increased by a considerable level. The need for a permanent bridge to travel across this bay arose. This is also the prime reason for the construction of Sri Lanka's longest bridge across the Kinniya bay.

He added that the number of vehicles too increased in this area in the recent past by a considerable level.

According to Kalaldeen Sri lanka's most famous factories are located in China Bay area while a large crowd daily travel to Trincomalee for various purposes. There are enough employment opportunities to the public in Trincomalee and China Bay area.

After the opening of the bridge Government and private sector employees who spend a long time waiting for a ferry boat need not worry as they will be able to get to their offices on time. The newly constructed bridge will ease the difficulty of the journey.

Cooperative Minister Najeeb A. Majeed in discussion with Kinniya Divisional Secretary,  M. Mubarak.

Energy and the time can be saved because of the bridge. If one wants cross the bay he had to come to the jetty around 5.00 am or 6.00 am. In case of ferry engine breakdown it will take a lot of time to repair the engine and to start the journey. The movement of all vehicles can be streamlined. Big lorries carrying a large quantity of commodities and raw materials can easily travel through the newly constructed bridge.

Vegetables and other commodities of this area can easily be brought to the market without any wastage.

Now bigger trucks and passenger busses ply from Trincomalee through Thambalagamuwa to Kinniya. Transport costs can be reduced too. More than 25,000 persons travel by ferry boats daily.

The reconstruction of Upparu, Kilivetti and Thengaipalam areas will be expedited. Kalaldeen expressed confidence that the Government will do its job correctly. Moves are in place to construct a bridge to ease the transportation to Batticaloa. Amirthalingam a passenger of the ferry boat said that with the opening of the bridge the life patterns of the people in this area will be modernised while removing the inconveniences.

He said that the development resources of the area will increase. The development of this area would also be expedited.

Sritharan another passenger said that farmers and industrialists will get a chance to market their products as soon as possible after the opening of the bridge. By cutting down unwanted expenses the profit level of the farmers and other industrialists can be increased. The economic condition of the area can be improved. Commodities essential to this area can be brought at low cost from other areas.

Sarafdeen Supervisor of the ferry boat service said that even-though we were affected somewhat with the opening of the bridge the public will benefit on a huge scale.

As the ferry boat service is run by the RDA they will get employment opportunities in the road development sector.

With the increase of the population there is a difficulty in running ferry boat service. Increasing the number of ferry boats according to the increase of population is not an easy task.

There was no alternative except constructing a bridge across the Kinniya bay. Some who worked in ferry boats were absorbed by the RDA as permanent employees. Others will get employment opportunities in Upparu ferry.He expressed confidence that the Government will look into their problems in a favourable way. Some are willing to retire after getting compensation from the Government he added.

Mohammed Fahir a Civil security force officer said that security measures in the area could be eased with the construction of this bridge. We have paddy fields in Kiran and Kurangu Panjankal. There is a need to resettle the people who were evacuated from these areas.

M.M. Abdullah who is a Youth Service Officer said that the construction of the bridge across the Kinniya bay will benefit nearly 18,000 families in Kinniya.

There are about 4000 Government and private sector employees in Kinniya. They travel daily by ferry boats. Transport takes first place in economic development.