Inadequate harbour facility causes delay

[TamilNet, Sunday, 21 February 1999, 13:58 GMT]
One of the reason, essential items are scarce and expensive in the Jaffna peninsula is because of the lack of facilities at Pt.Pedro harbour that leads to delays in unloading ships harboured at sea, said the Jaffna Business Chamber.

There are not enough small boats to bring goods unloaded from ship ashore and the delay leads to food getting spoilt, they said.

The Jaffna Business Chambers had arranged to transport three ship loads of goods but unloading from the first ship that arrived on February 14 is yet to be finished.

The second ship can only arrive in the harbour after the first one has left as the Pt. Pedro harbour can only accommodate one ship at a time, said sources at the Jaffna Business Chamber.

Jaffna businessmen have requested Government Officials to take the necessary to avoid delays at the harbour.

Meanwhile an official from a NGO said "the Government does not send enough essential goods to the peninsula as it claims; and a large portion of the goods are spoilt".

"In addition the goods brought by private businessmen are also delayed", he added.

The NGO official pointed out that the Kankesanthurai harbour, with better facilities than Pt. Pedro, can only be used by the Government's Security Forces.

"The government's prime interest is to fulfil the necessities of the Forces" said a member of a Tamil group operating in Jaffna.

He said that local government members were not in a position to take up these matters with the government authorities concerned.