A resolution passed by the Northern Provincial Council has called for transport links to be reestablished to connect the Tamil homeland to India.
The resolution, presented by Councillor MK Sivajilingam and seconded by Kandaiah Sarveshwaran of the TNA, said flights should travel directly from Indian airports to the airports in Palaly in the Jaffna district and Trincomalee on the east coast.
The resolution also called for a resumption of ferry services between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Thalaimannar in the Mannar district, and demanded that Kankesanthurai Harbour in Jaffna be named as a commercial port.
The government has rejected the resolution as a joke.
Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayarathna said that there was no need for another international airport in Sri Lanka and that the resolution was “amusing”, according to Hiru News.
Currently the only two airports serving routes between India and Sri Lanka are situated in the south, namely Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in President Rajapaksa’s hometown Hambantota, Bandaranaike International Airport near Colombo.
There are 5 domestic airports situated in the North-East, all of which are used for both military and civilian functions.
See here for article on Hiru News with video in Sinhalese and Tamil.