Key access road in Palaly reopened after 34 years

Map of the access road that was reopened in Palaly after 34 years.

A key access road that connects Palaly road- Vayavilan junction up to Tholakatty junction in Jaffna was reopened for public use this morning after 34 years by Security forces. 

The 1.25 kilometres long road was closed in 1990 due to the wartime situation in the North as residents were displaced from their traditional homes and agrarian lands. Thereafter, the whole region was declared as High-Security Zone (HSZ) and the public were not allowed to access their homes and agrarian lands even after the war came to an end in 2009. 

Locals and civil society outfits repeatedly requested security forces to allow access to this interconnecting road that would link with other main roads in the region.

The past successive governments assured to release the remaining civilian-owned lands but over 3000 acres of private land are still under the custody of security forces. 

Commander of Jaffna Security Forces Maj Gen Chandana Wickramasinghe declared open the road this morning for public use. The access road was allowed for public use following a directive issued by Northern Governor N. Vedanayahan. (Northeastern Monitor/ Nov 1/2024)