Sri Lanka: Over 35 hospitalised after bus collision

Colombo, Jan 19 Over 35 people were hospitalised after a head-on collision between two buses in Sri Lanka's Southern Province on Sunday morning, police said in a statement.

Six individuals sustained serious injuries and were receiving treatment at the main hospital in Matara District, according to police, Xinhua news agency reported.

Local media reported that it was raining at the time of the accident.

Police recently disclosed that 12,140 people lost their lives in traffic accidents between 2020 and 2024.

In response to the increasing number of accidents involving buses, Sri Lankan authorities have been intensifying legal actions against individuals who violate traffic regulations on passenger buses.

The Sri Lankan government has authorised the recruitment of an additional 10,000 police officers to bolster efforts aimed at preventing road accidents, as well as conducting anti-crime and anti-drug operations.

Police recently disclosed that 12,140 people lost their lives in traffic accidents between 2020 and 2024. In response to the increasing number of accidents involving buses, Sri Lankan authorities have been intensifying legal actions against individuals who violate traffic regulations on passenger buses.

According to the World Bank (2019), Sri Lanka has a considerably high rate of population density (346 per km2 ), road density (173.9km per 100 km2 ) and vehicle density (109.73 per km2 ). A report issued by the Department of National Planning in Sri Lanka (2017) found that 3,000km of roads within the national road network of Sri Lanka have surpassed a traffic volume of 10,000 vehicles per day.

Roads situated in urban areas usually exceed their service capacity, especially during peak hours. With the inclusion of several highways and the ability to travel within less time to several destinations within Sri Lanka, more vehicles flock to the roads for trips and other activities. With increased economic activity, there are a larger number of freight vehicles involved in transportation and this lends added pressure to the road network system.

This is especially cumbersome in areas where a large fraction of roads, especially in urban areas remain as two-way single carriageway roads. The difficulties faced in the expansion of the roads horizontally due to other landscape developments also remain a significant issue.

Source: IANS