Muddy SLA detour jams traffic

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 November 2004, 17:44 GMT]
Heavy morning traffic on the A9 highway near Omanthai, the main entry point to the northern Vanni region held by the Liberation Tigers, was blocked for more than five hours Saturday after two vehicles got stuck in a muddy side road made by the Sri Lanka army through a private property. The SLA made the detour road to divert public traffic around its Nochchimoddai camp, which straddles the A9 highway near Omanthai.

The owner of the private land has filed a case in the Vavuniya courts against the SLA. He has asked the court to close the detour road through his land behind Nochcimoddai SLA camp.

Tamil MPs for the Vanni say that the SLA should open the A9 highway, which is blocked by the camp at Nochcimoddai to ease the traffic flow, which is often clogged at the muddy detour, particularly during the monsoons.