Yal Devi. Let's go to Jaffna.

Government sources said yesterday that President Mahinda Rajapaksas vision was to put the Yal Devi back on the track to the North with the cooperation of the South. He is expected to announce this as a National Project shortly. General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said that Minister of Transport Dulles Alahapperuma had said at a meeting yesterday morning that SLR should be prepared and ready to implement all decisions arrived at by the Government. The GM said that to his knowledge the date scheduled for this announcement had been postponed beyond March (19). He said that 160 kilometres of rail tracks had to be laid from Thandikulam in Vavuniya and many Railway stations along the way had to be rebuilt. The Government is also going ahead with the construction of the railway to Kataragama 160 kilometres from Matara the Southern terminal. Land acquisition and preparing the ground is taking place at a fast pace he said. by Franklin R. Satyapalan Source: The island