Sunday observer Extra

Another landmark:

New Galle bus stand links railway station

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Since the infamous invasion by the Portuguese in 1505 the Southern capital city of Galle has gone through good times and bad. The 2004 tsunami can be singled out as the saddest moment in the history of Galle.

It not only took away lives and limbs of people and animals it also destroyed valuable property running into several billions. One such landmark that was destroyed was the Central bus stand that was built in 1987 by the then Member of Parliament, Albert Silva.

Since then there were numerous requests made to the government to construct a new bus stand for the city of Galle.

Finally these requests were met with a positive response when the Minister of Economic Affairs, Basil Rajapaksa decided to build a new bus stand for Galle.

The building contract to the value of Rs. 410 million was entrusted to Ceylon Engineering Consulting Bureau (CECB) which in a record eight months built Sri Lanka’s longest bus terminal.

It also becomes the second biggest completed development project in the Southern province.

First the engineers demolished the old building which was damaged by the tsunami.

The modern bus stand is three storied with a roof top that can also be used as a safe area in case of another tsunami or then raging floods. The total length of the bus terminal is 168 meters and 10 meters wide with 1,255 square feet.

It has 29 platforms where buses would be parked at an angle similar to those seen in developed countries. The ground floor also has space for three shops and kiosks for newspaper sellers and a waiting area with seats.

One of unique features of this creation is a rest room and other features for disabled people.

The upper floor is tiled with space for 16 shops and space has been allocated for a canteen and its floor area is 2,152 square meters. There are also two toilets and viewing decks on either side of the first floor.

A historic landmark of the bus station is the overhead bridge which links both the bus stand and the railway station. This would be 44 meters in length and 3.5 meters wide.

This is the first such link the Sri Lankan transportation history. Also for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka bus transportation, bus timetables would be displayed on a giant screen so that passengers could plan their journey early.

It would enable commuters to go direct to both venues without having to come to Galle Road minimizing road accidents as well.

Since the bus stand is built on municipality property, it would be managed by the Galle MC.

One of the key movers behind this project, MP. Galle District Dr. Ramesh Pathirana said that over 165,000 commuters use the Galle bus stand daily and a modern bus stand was a crying need. “We are proud that the City of Galle has now got another masterpiece similar to the Fort, Harbour and Cricket stadium and most importantly the tag, World Heritage City.”

The bus station is scheduled to be opened on July 9 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.