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A9 opening and after

The opening of the A9 Highway up to Killinochchi on February 15 was a landmark development in the peace process.

What is most important was that it was an act that necessitated action by both parties in the conflict. Both the army and the LTTE worked hard to keep to the deadline so that the highway could be open on the specified date.

This shows the willingness on the part of the LTTE to give peace a chance. If the process is well handled we could expect more reciprocation from them.

There are, however, few thorny issues like child conscription, which could be ironed out with the assistance of the international community and the facilitators. There is also the question of maintaining the status quo and the military balance as it stood on December 24, the date on which the unilateral cessations of hostilities began.

Coming back to the issue of A9 opening, it is an event that could ease the burdens of the people further and restore normalcy in the North.

One of the first tasks in this respect is to ensure a good transport service for passengers and goods along the A9 highway at an affordable fare. Reports reaching Colombo from Omanthai say that the fare for a single passenger for the Omanthai-Killinochchi trip either way is Rs. 250 irrespective of the mode of transport. For example, a motorcyclist will carry two persons on this strip for Rs. 250 each. A car packed with eight persons would charge the same fare per passenger.

This is much higher than the fare charged in other parts of the country. It will give room for vehicle owners and others to fleece the people.

The road has to be developed urgently so that vehicle owners will be forced to reduce the fare as the hazards would be very much reduced then.

If the people in the North as well as the South are to benefit, a mechanism should be set in place to transport the produce of one region to the other. It is learnt that the farmers of the Vanni and the North are not getting the value for their produce as the local market is saturated. An opening to the Southern market would ensure them a better deal. Similarly the Southern consumer will also benefit by more supplies reaching

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