News
Broken promises
View(s):Story and pix by Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk
The Matara railway station and the central bus halt are packed with tired and disgruntled passengers -both local and foreign- waiting to return to Colombo after the Sinhala and Hindu New Year holiday. Commuters standing in queues for many an hour complained that despite announcing special rail services, these services were suddenly cancelled yesterday.
“I came with my family of five -including two children- to the railway station as it is less costly than bus travel. We were advised to take trains in order to avoid congestion in buses. But we have been here for several hours,” Nilantha Pushpakumara, a passenger said.
Tired and exhausted children and infants were seen crying uncontrollably in the dust and heat as they waited in long queues with their parents. Foreigners who opted for train and bus travel too were thoroughly disappointed with the service.
“It’s very hot and both the buses and trains are crowded. Though we enjoyed our stay on the southern coast, we are definitely not going to enjoy the ride back,” a female tourist said.
According to our provincial correspondents, over-crowded bus halts and railway stations were the order of the day at Kandy, Anuradhapura and other outstation areas.
 Irate passengers confront a transport worker |
 Both local and foreign tourists were severely inconvenienced by the cancellation of the train service |
 "We were advised to travel by train to avoid congestion…" |
 "I'm getting into this bus somehow…" a foreign tourist scrambles to get into a bus |
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