Ship expected to bring Jaffna mail from Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 February 2007, 13:38 GMT]
A part of the backlog of ordinary letters to Jaffna lying in Trincomalee Main Post Office is expected to arrive in Jaffna Monday by ship, Jaffna Postal sources said. Besides thousands of mail bags accumulating in Trincomalee, 5000 parcels, many containing medicines and food, destined for addresses in Jaffna district are also lying undelivered.

Meanwhile, Minister of Posts and Telecommunication, Rauff Hakeem Friday directed the Post Master General (PMG) to take immediate steps to dispatch all mailbags and parcels to Jaffna before he returns from China.

Mr Hakeem is expected to accompany Sril Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to China Sunday night for a week's visit.

According to a circular of Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES) dated February 13, the PMG has been advised not send the backlog of mail to Jaffna for reasons of security and lack of transport, until further notice.

The situation has reached a critical stage as the Commissioner Essential Services has asked the Postal department to pay the shipping tariff.

Altogether 26,000 parcels have been delivered in Jaffna peninsula since the closure of the A9 route. Approximately 15,000 of these parcels were delivered within the Jaffna Municipality while the rest were delivered in other areas, Jaffna Main Post office sources said.

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