Modern bus stand for Galle

A modern bus stand in Galle, in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, built at a cost of Rs. 405 million was declared open yesterday by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This two storied bus stand is the longest bus stand in Sri Lanka and its length is 161 metres with a width of 10 metres.  Funds for this project were allocated by the Ministry of Economic Development.

It consists of 16 shops, one restaurant and 4 stalls for selling newspapers.  It has also 2 resting lounges for male and female passengers and one resting lounge dedicated for disabled persons.  The bus stand will cater to 692 buses daily and 165,680 passengers are using this bus stand daily.  The new bus stand also has an overhead bridge of 41 metres connecting it with the nearby Galle Railway Station. The bridge also has an overhead roof to protect the passengers from rain.

The bus stand that existed earlier was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, together with several buses and passengers being washing away.  However, despite many appeals made by the people, no concrete action was taken to build a bus stand. The government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa realising the need to have a full fledged bus stand drew up plans for the construction of a new bus stand and laid the foundation stone for same on 3 October, 2010.