384 JOURNAL R. A. S. (CEYLON). [Vol. III. 



Roads and Communications. 

 The principal roads are the following : — The Nuwara 

 Eliya road, which is the only one that affords the means 

 of uninterrupted communication between Badulla and Kandy ; 

 on this road bullock carts may be constantly seen ; but 

 it is a very tedious and expensive route. 



The Lower Badulla road ; this passes along the Baclulla- 

 oya and Mahaveliganga, and over a flat country, and is 

 undoubtedly the shortest to Kandy, being only 56 miles 

 distant. It is intersected by streams which at times are 

 swollen and which therefore render the road impassable 

 during the rainy season. In many places rocks also form 

 serious obstacles, which are not easy to remove so as to 

 make the road passable for carts. The country traversed 

 by this road is thinly populated, owing to the prevalence 

 of fever for which it has gained notoriety. 



The Mad alia road. This is also a short approach to 

 Kandy, but it is steep, narrow and dangerous. 



The Ratnapura, Hambantotta, and Batticcdoa roads. 

 These lead to the low country. 



The Ratnapura road runs over a comparatively flat 

 country in a south-west direction. If this road be open for 

 carts it will greatly facilitate communication with Colombo ; 

 while there will *be provided also a cheap route from it 

 to the Sanitarium of the Island, and in many other respects 

 the country will be benefited. On each side of the road 

 there is rich pasture land. It is studded too with numerous 

 and populous villages. This ought to be the proper outlet 

 for the District. 



Sir H. G. Ward, who had personally inspected all the 

 different lines of communication with Badulla observes in 

 his Minute of Inspection of 1851), that, "The Haputale 

 road still continues to be the favorite object of the 

 Planters. The large amount of land sold near Haputale 

 (5,000 acres), and the increase in the Coffee Crops of the 



