TN govt opposes ferry service to Colombo

Jayalalithaa opposes proposal citing national security concerns

The Tamil Nadu government has opposed the proposal to commence a ferry service between Tuticorin and Colombo on grounds of national security.

The Union Ministry for Shipping had convened an inter-ministerial meeting in May this year to finalise the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the commencement of the service.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa asked the central government to defer the decision for the service.

A lasting peace with a durable political settlement has to be reached in Sri Lanka before any commencement of the ferry service can be thought of.

"I wish to point out that this is not just a question of shipping or a ferry service but a major issue of national security and internal security of our country," the chief minister said in the letter.

She is not convinced that the added security assurance by T R Baalu, Union minister for shipping, road transport and highways, will help solve the security concerns.

The letter states that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had resumed its terror operations and the peace talks had broken down making the ferry service proposal a dangerous one.

Jayalalithaa observed that the ferry service would lead to an increase in the activities of the LTTE sea tigers. It would also give fresh fillip to their claim of assuming legitimate naval control of international waters off the coast of Mannar, she said.

The ferry service could aid in the resumption of arms and drugs trade by LTTE through Tamil Nadu, and increase the number of asylum seekers. The letter also raised concerns about the safety of the vessels used in the ferry service itself as they could be vulnerable to attacks from the LTTE sea tigers.

The issue of launching ferry services was first discussed by the Indo-Sri Lankan Sub-Commission on Trade, Finance and Investment in December 1998.

The Union cabinet had subsequently approved a proposal to sign an MoU with Sri Lanka on starting the ferry service and establishing a joint committee to work out modalities for its implementation sometime in June, 2003.

This proposal was dropped in view of the concern voiced by Jayalalithaa in a letter to the then PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in July 2003, where she stated that the current status of the internal security environment within Sri Lanka, the ethnic conflict between LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, as well as the long history of terrorism and terrorist acts perpetrated by the LTTE validates that the reintroduction of the ferry service should be deferred.

At present, the most economical flight to Colombo is from Thiruvananthapuram costing about Rs 7,000 (return fare). The ferry cost is estimated to be around Rs 3,500 (two way) and the passengers will be able to carry about 50-75 kgs of baggage.