The driver and conductor of private bus which was plying from Anuradhapura to Colombo violating travel restrictions between provinces, were taken into custody yesterday morning at Madatugama, Kekirawa Army and Police barrier.
North Central Province Road Passenger Transport Authority Chairman Nilantha Ekanayake had on a tip-off received, informed the Kekirawa Police about this bus which stopped at the Madatugama, Kekirawa Army and Police barrier.
“During an inspection of the bus, the Police discovered that it did not have a permit to travel between provinces during a period when restrictions had been imposed. The passengers had been asked to get off the bus and the bus had been taken into custody by the Kekirawa Police,” Ekanayake said.
Meanwhile, journalists who tried to obtain a statement from Ekanayake were allegedly obstructed by Police officers manning the barrier where the bus was halted.
Most of the passengers who had got down from the bus said that this bus had been operating from Anuradhapura to Colombo daily in spite of travel restrictions and that they used to travel in it for work. They said that however, they did not know why the bus was stopped from operating on the very day the country was supposed to open.Meanwhile, a number of private and SLTB buses were in operation in Dambulla yesterday but there appeared to be very few passengers.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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