Jafffna Army Commander orders registration of motorcycles

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 January 2007, 00:14 GMT]
In a special announcement made on Friday, the Head office of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) command in the North issued strict orders directing residents to register all motor cycles and scooters including the light vehicles used by women in Jaffna peninsula, before Saturday at the SLA camps in their areas, and to obtain permits to operate the vehicles. Failure to register these vehicles will result in the arrest of the owner and confiscation of their vehicle, the announcement warned.

However, the representatives of the editorial board of all Tamil dailies published in Jaffna were summoned on Friday to the 512 Division SLA camp and were informed that the deadline for re-registration of these vehicles has been extended till Jan 18.

Meanwhile, Friday thousands of people lined up outside the military camps in the peninsula, with the documents required for vehicle registration. The army also has issued strict orders that all vehicles in Vadamaradchchi and Thenmaradchchi also should be registered before the deadline.

Due the prevailing shortage of fuel, these vehicles with less than 50cc capacity have become the preferred means of public transport, particularly by female office workers and school girls. The new order has created serious difficulties, civilian sources said.

Owners have already registered their motor cycles at the Government secretariat and are paying taxes, and the SLA order forces the public to register their vehicles for the second time, residents complained.

Meanwhile, a family man K.Velautham, 60, operating a Communication Centre and International Money transfer business, was arrested by Point Pedro police and flown to Colombo for further investigation .

No details for the arrest has been released.