Vavuniya-Trinco road opens after a decade

[TamilNet, Monday, 04 February 2002, 19:11 GMT]
The Sri Lankan government re-opened the highway from Vavuniya to Trincomalee through Horawapotana Monday. The Sri Lanka army closed the road ten years ago. The highway is the shortest route- 96 kilometres - from Vavuniya to the eastern port town. A bus service to Trincomalee was started on the road Monday.

Meanwhile, speaking at Sri Lanka's 54th Independence Day function in the Vavuniya district secretariat Monday, Mr. Noordeen Mashoor, the Minister for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Vanni, said that A9 highway to Jaffna through the Vanni is expected to open for civilian traffic from 15 February. The Tigers said last month they want to open the A9 for the benefit of civilians in the Vanni and Jaffna.

More than three thousand soldiers were killed and 7 thousand were wounded in the SLA's biggest and most ambitious military operation from May 1997 to October 1999 to take the A9 highway.

Mr. Mashoor said that once the highway is open the economies of the Vanni and Jaffna should improve and this could help economy in the southern part of the island.

After the SLA closed Vavuniya - Trincomalee road through Horawapotana in September 1992, travellers were compelled to take tedious detours through the Habarana Junction and later through Kabitikollawa which some times took as long as 7-10 hours.