Landslides, floods stop traffic on roads

By Malik Gunatilleke and R.S. Keeriwatte

All upcountry train services and road traffic between Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya have come to a standstill as a result of land slides caused by continuous heavy rains while several roads have come under water in Avissawella, reports said.

Continuous showers from yesterday noon have caused large rocks and trees to collapse on the main roads and railway tracks in Kandy. Police diverted traffic on the affected roads to alternate roads while railway authorities suspended Colombo-Kandy and Colombo-Badulla railway services.

Road clearing operations have already begun, officials said but Railway Controller Nihal Fernandez said heavy rains were hampering efforts to clear the railway tracks.

“It is difficult to say how long we will take to clear the tracks as the rains haven’t stopped as yet, but we hope to have the trains running in 24 hours,” he said.

The Gampola Police said that electricity cables had broken and fallen onto the roads and this had made travelling dangerous. Police closed the road and Ceylon Electricity Board workers were last night repairing the cables.

According to reports, some shops in Peradeniya town have been damaged by the landslides.

Meanwhile, flooding in Avissawella has brought transportation to a halt with the Puwakpitiya area being completely under water.

Several electricity posts in the Seethavaka junction have collapsed causing damage to the roads and a few vehicles. A three-wheeler driver suffered minor injuries when a cable fell on his vehicle.