by Dilanthi Jayamanne

Despite the Government and the LTTE agreeing to reopen the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road, under the MoU, for public transport the Rehabilitation, Rese-ttlement Authority for the North (RRAN) has called for tenders to charter ships to carry cargo to the Jaffna Peninsular.

The road was scheduled to be reopened on Monday (April 8).

The Chairman of RRAN N. Vamadeva called for organisations to provide transport facilities for passengers and commercial cargo to the North by sea. "When expressing interest to undertake this assignment they should provide sufficient information about the resources readily available such as the capacity, speed and horsepower of the engine, communication facilities, radar facilities and insurance cover."

Vamadeva held that the officers of the shipping organisations should operate from Talaimannar to Kurikadduvan. "The ships should be able to birth alongside Talaimannar pier and Kurikadduvan pier."

The Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees, Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena stressed that it was necessary to keep all options of transport open despite the cease-fire agreement between the Government and the LTTE which permits the reopening of the A9 road and facilities for the transportation of goods and passengers along it.

"We have an obligation towards the refugees," he pointed out when questioned about two tenders called by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and RRAN to ship their cargo to Jaffna at the beginning of this month.

Interior Minister, John Amaratunga told ‘The Island’, early this week that the question, as to who would run the bus service on the A9 road and from which point, would not delay the opening of the highway. The dawning of April 8 proved that the issue still remained unsettled. News reports quoted an LTTE leader in Vavuniya as saying that the public bus service could travel up to Thandikulam, just beyond Vavuniya after which commuters would have to board a Tamil Eelam Transport Service.