On India – Sri Lanka ties: Drawing closer

News: Connectivity between Sri Lanka and India seems set to improve, especially between the Tamil areas in the north and Tamil Nadu across the Palk Strait.

The projects to link Jaffna by air to Trichy and by boat to Karaikal on the Coromandel Coast form a part of India’s development outreach to Sri Lanka. It focuses on building long-term infrastructure projects in the island nation, besides aid for emergency needs such as fuel, food and essential medicines.

Better connectivity between India and Sri Lanka could help them realize the full potential of their partnership.

Efforts by the govt to improve India-Sri lanka connectivity

Multiple transport links existed between India and Sri Lanka until the 1980s when the civil war severely curtailed exchanges and transactions.

Before that, a cyclonic storm in 1964 destroyed the Pamban Bridge and the railway terminus and jetty at Dhanushkodi that forced the government to end the popular “Boat Mail”. It connected Chennai and Talaimannar in northern Sri Lankan via Rameswaram through a rail link and a ferry.

Since the war ended in 2009, transportation has been a key area that India-Sri Lanka ties have focussed on, with railways and ports in focus. IRCON, an Indian Railways subsidiary, restored the Colombo-Jaffna railway line, which was opened for the public in 2014, and has since expanded to Kankesanthurai beyond Jaffna.

The proposed ferry services between Karaikal and Jaffna/Kankesanthurai could at a later stage be upgraded to facilitate transport of cargo from India to Sri Lanka. At present, Colombo is the only port of entry for Indian goods, which involves extra travel.

Issues that still remain

The air connectivity from Indian cities has so far been restricted to Colombo.

– Direct flights out of Jaffna to cities in Tamil Nadu will save travel time and money, which could give a fillip to tourism, particularly pilgrimage, in the Jaffna peninsula as well as in India.

Way forward

The current crisis in Sri Lanka has forced Colombo to recalibrate ties with New Delhi and the latter to emphasise its “Neighbourhood First” policy.

The challenge, however, would be to insulate bilateral relations from regional politics in both countries and build on the gains for both.

Source: This post is based on the article “Drawing closer” published in The Indian Express on 16th June 22.