India is providing Sri Lanka assistance worth Rs 27 million in implementing a rail bus project to connect the Tamil-dominated areas of Batiicaloa and Trincomalee in the eastern part of the country. The project that involves conversion of the existing conventional road transport system to one that is rail run,was formally inaugurated in Batticaloa on Wednesday by Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad along with Sri Lankan Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma. The project aims to provide a quick and affordable avenue of transport between the two cities by converting conventional buses to enable them to run on rail tracks. The government of India has provided 10 buses at a cost of SLR 44 million to Sri Lanka Railways and has made available an additional SLR 22 million to pay for the cost of conversion of these buses into five railbus units. The conversion work will be carried out at the Sri Lankan Railways workshops in Ratmalana near Colombo. The entire project,costing about SLR 66 million (Rs 27 million),is expected to be completed by end of this August. "It is India's desire to contribute to the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka in building up infrastructure in the province,so as to assure an early return to normalcy and stability in the lives of the people," the Indian High Commission said in a statement. It is hoped that,when the service is fully in place,passengers will not have to undergo delays in making the journey from Batticaloa to Trincomalee and back,the Indian High Commission said. "The project is a manifestation of Government of India's commitment to the development of the Eastern Province," it said. Senior Advisor to Sri Lankan President Basil Rajapaksa Chief Minister of the Eastern Province Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan Central Ministers Ameer Ali and V Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman,the Mayor of Batticaloa Sivageetha Prabhaharan and Eastern Province senior Minister M Hizbullah were also present on the occasion.
