After a span of more than forty years, Tamil Nadu and northern Sri Lanka are poised to reconnect via a maritime route with the launch of a passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai on 10 October 2023.
This significant development is aimed at enhancing the people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the ferry service will traverse a distance of 60 nautical miles, linking Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu with Kankesanthurai, situated near Jaffna, the capital of northern Sri Lanka.
The journey is expected to last approximately three hours and will be serviced by a high-speed vessel named Cheriyapani.
The SCI has highlighted that this service presents a valuable opportunity for the people of India and Sri Lanka to undertake cost-effective trips to Jaffna and Tamil Nadu, further solidifying the longstanding ties between the two nations.
According to a report from the Deccan Herald, the one-way fare for this ferry service is projected to be approximately Rs 7,500, and passengers will be granted a generous baggage allowance of 40 kg.
This development follows an agreement reached between the two countries to resume passenger ferry services between Nagapattinam and Kankesanthurai, along with efforts to promptly restart ferry services between Rameswaram and Talaimannar.
These decisions were made during the visit of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in July of this year.
The passenger ferry service between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in northern Sri Lanka was discontinued in 1982 due to the civil war in Sri Lanka. However, a ferry service between Thoothukudi and Colombo was briefly initiated during the UPA-II government but lasted only five months.
The revival of the passenger ferry service to northern Sri Lanka after decades will offer an alternative mode of transportation for those traveling from Tamil Nadu to Jaffna.
Jaffna and Chennai share close geographical, historical, and cultural ties, and the availability of both direct flights and ferry services will be beneficial for the Sri Lankan diaspora in India, as it eliminates the need to transit through Colombo, which can be time-consuming.
Currently, Air India operates a direct flight service between Chennai and Jaffna. However, the ferry service is expected to boost tourism in the Jaffna peninsula.
(With inputs from Swarajya)
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