With the resumption of air services between Chennai and Jaffna, the focus has now turned to the proposed commencement of the long-talked about ferry services between Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry and Kankesanthurai (KKS) in Jaffna.
A couple of days after India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, went on record, saying the Indian government was working “very closely” with the Sri Lankan government to launch ferry services between KKS and various points in India, KKS was officially declared by the Sri Lankan authorities as an approved port of exit and entry.
Around the same time, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation of the Sri Lankan government held a meeting with a few private operators. It has invited them to another meeting to be held at the KKS port on Saturday (January 7). In the meantime, the Ministry has sought proposals from potential investors to establish and operate a passenger terminal at KKS. New Delhi is supporting the KKS expansion project.
Sharing his views, A. Natarajan, who served as India’s Consul-General at Jaffna during 2015-2018, says that at least for a couple of reasons, there will be movement of people and goods, especially from the Northern Province in Sri Lanka. If the baggage of 100 kg, as sought by the private operators, is allowed, the probability of small-scale retail businesspeople and traders coming to Tamil Nadu will be high. Apart from pilgrimage, sections of the Sri Lankan diaspora, while returning to their respective countries, may like to depart from Chennai.
Recalling that the ferry service between Thoothukudi and Colombo lasted only five months in 2011, the former diplomat emphasises that all the stakeholders will have to ensure that both the air and ferry services are carried on in a sustained manner.
Pointing out that the proposed inauguration of the ferry services would strengthen the cultural ties between the Northern Province and Tamil Nadu, Ayathurai Santhan, a veteran Tamil writer from Jaffna, told a recent webinar organised by the Press Institute of India that until the 1950s and 1960s, the Hindus of Jaffna, who were devotees of Lord Shiva at Chidambaram, had dedicated their surplus lands or even a portion of their lands in the name of the Chidambaram temple, and such lands were known as Chidambaraththukk Kaani or Kovil Kaani. Besides, till sea travel between the two countries was forbidden, people from certain villages in the coastal region of the Northern Province used to take flowers and milk for the morning puja at temples in Tamil Nadu, including the one in Vedaranyam.
