July 22, Colombo: Recording another triumphant moment in Sri Lanka's history books, the A-9 Jaffna - Kandy main highway reopened for the general public this morning after a lapse of several years for public transportation.

A group of civilians have joined this historical journey this morning heading to Medawachchiya by five state owned buses from the Doreiappa grounds in Jaffna. The five buses carrying 210 passengers to Medawachchiya are now on the way to its destination, officials said.

The bus fare between Colombo and Jaffna will be Rs. 325, the Ministry of Transport said.

The nearly 200 mile- long A - 9 Road was closed for passenger transportation in August 2006 after the army camp in Muhamalai, Jaffna came under attack from the LTTE rebels.

The road was open during the defunct ceasefire period of 2003- 2006 but was under the control of the LTTE rebels who imposed heavy taxes on the passengers. With the liberation of Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass the Sri Lankan Army brought the entire highway under its control on January 9, 2009.

The LTTE rebels had mined the highway heavily to prevent the Sri Lankan Army offensive against them.

The A-9 is the only land route which connects Sri Lanka's capital Colombo and the northernmost point of the country in the Jaffna peninsula.

During the time it was closed the passengers had to pay heavy fees to travel between Colombo and Jaffna taking either the sea route or the air route.

The government opened the A-9 for military traffic in March and earlier this month for the commercial traffic.