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Tiger buses on Colombo-Jaffna route
By Nalaka Nonis
Tiger guerrillas have launched their own bus service from Colombo to Jaffna and vice versa along the A-9 highway with the help of selected private operators in the city.

This is whilst the government and the LTTE are still locked in dispute over a restoration of the public transport service in accordance with the Ceasefire Agreement of February 22. It declared the parties shall open the Kandy-Jaffna road to non-military traffic of goods and passengers.

Specific modalities shall be worked out by the parties with the assistance of the Norwegian government by D day + 30 at the latest, according to the agreement. However, the time frame expired on March 26 , this year.

Ambassador Bernard Gunatillake, head of the "Peace Secretariat said the issue regarding the operation of public transport services from Colombo to Jaffna had gone down as an "unresolved issue" and would have to be raised at what he called "the appropriate time."

"In April, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) declared that the matter should be resolved between the Government and the LTTE," Mr. Gunatillake told The Sunday Times. However, he said no one had so far raised issue about private buses operating services between Colombo and Jaffna.

The Sunday Times learnt the LTTE has come to terms with selected bus and coach operators in the city who have agreed to pay them a fee of Rs 300 for every passenger. On an average, at least 3000 passengers pass through guerrilla-controlled Wanni travelling to Jaffna or returning from there.

Whilst passengers are being charged Rs 1100 for a one way trip on a non air conditioned bus or coach, agents have been assigned the task of canvassing business in predominantly Tamil areas in the city. They include Wellawatte and Kotahena. The fare for air conditioned travel for each passenger to or from Jaffna to Colombo has been fixed at Rs 1250.

The government's inability to allow bus operators to freely run a service is depriving more than 140 bus owners of the opportunity, private bus owners chief Gamunu Wijeratna told The Sunday Times. He said the cost per passenger to travel from Colombo to Jaffna or vice versa would be a maximum of Rs 600. He said his association would raise the matter with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when he returns from his tour of the United States.

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