The Union Minister of State for Transport, Pon Radhakrishnan, said India’s government is considering a proposal to establish a rail link between Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar, in the Tamil-dominated North-East of the island.
The minister, speaking to reporters in Chennai, said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government is considering a proposal to establish a bridge to connect the two countries.
In June India’s road transport and highways minister, Nitin Gadkari, said that a proposal for bridging the divide across the Palk Strait had been submitted to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for a pre-feasibility study and subsequent financing, however the Sri Lankan government said it has not held any discussions with India on this issue.
“Neither the Prime Minister of India or the Indian External Affairs Minister discussed the matter with us during their recent visits to the country. This proposal seems to be someone's creative idea and nothing more,” Sri Lanka’s acting Foreign Minister Ajith Perera said at the time.
No discussions held on India's road-rail link submission at ADB says Sri Lanka (20 June 2015)
ADB commits to increase lending to India (18 Jun 2015)
India submits feasibility proposal to ADB for bridge to North-East (17 Jun 2015)
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