Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 14: After a gap of about 40 years, India and Sri Lanka on Saturday resumed a high speed passenger ferry service between the two countries to strengthen the cultural and commercial ties between the two countries.
The high-speed craft (HSC) Cheriyapani, embarked on its international journey around 8.15 a.m. from the Nagapattinam port with 50 passengers and 12 crew members headed by Captain Biju George, on board. The service will be operated between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu to Kankesanthurai in the northern province of Sri Lanka.
The Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal and Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports, E.V. Velu, flagged off the craft from the Nagapattinam port on Saturday.
The Shipping Corporation of India has roped in a private agency to sell tickets. The vessel can accommodate 150 passengers on board and will start from Nagapattinam at 7 a.m. and reach Kankesanthurai at 11 a.m. The return journey will start at 1.30 p.m. at Kankesanthurai and reach Nagapattinam at 5.30 p.m. A one-way ticket for travel will cost around ₹7,670 and each passenger can carry up to 50 kg of baggage on-board.
In a video messages, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe hailed this diplomatic effort and highlighted the importance of launching the ferry service between the two nations.
Calling it a new chapter in diplomatic and economic ties between India and Sri Lanka, Mr Modi said the ferry service would help strengthen cultural, commercial, and civilisational ties between the two nations. Connectivity was the central theme of the joint vision of the India – Sri Lanka economic partnership, Mr Modi said adding that India would take steps to resume the operation of the ferry service between Rameswaram and Talaimannar as well.
Mr Wickremesinghe said this was an important step in improving connectivity between the two nations. People of both countries have travelled across the Palk Strait for many years, he said and added that the ferry services operated in the past were suspended due to the civil war in Sri Lanka. Now, the connectivity had been re-established.
The External Affairs Minister S. Jai Shankar, who virtually addressed the event, said the launch affirmed the ‘neighbourhood first’ policy of India. Further, it would help improve cooperation in disaster management, maritime security, and ease of business between the two nations.
Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister for Ports, Shipping and Aviation of Sri Lanka, and Gopal Baglay, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, virtually witnessed the inaugural ceremony. Mr Silva thanked the government of India for taking up various infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka. T.N. Minister for Law S. Regupathy, senior officials from the Union and State governments, and legislators participated in the inaugural event.
The Tamil Nadu Port Officer Captain M. Anbazhagan said the daily service would continue till October 23. Since the vessel cannot be operated in rough weather, considering the onset of the Northeast monsoon, the operations would be temporarily suspended for two months and would resume in January, next year.
Captain Anbazhagan said the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board would take up further dredging activities at the Port and upgrade the infrastructure at the Nagapattinam Passenger Terminal Station during the break in the service. Steps were also underway to facilitate the passengers to avail of e-visas.
While earlier the idea was to start the ferry service connecting Karaikal and Kankesanthurai, location was shifted to Nagapattinam after the Sri Lankan president met Mr Modi in July this year. The Nagapattinam port is one of the non-major ports under the maintenance of the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, and is located on the shores of the Bay of Bengal at the estuary of the Kaduvaiyar river that flows south of the town between Akkaraipettai and Keechankuppam fishermen villages. The Union Ministry of External Affairs had sanctioned ₹8 crore to upgrade the infrastructure at the port.
A slew of measures, including setting up office spaces for Customs, External Affairs, Shipping, Immigration and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and building a passenger terminal were carried out by the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board. The mouth of the Kaduvaiyar River was also dredged to remove accumulated silt to facilitate the movement of large vessels.