The Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Santhosh Jha told reporters in Batticaloa that the ferry service between Kankesanthurai and Nagapattinam which was revived after 40 years and suddenly halted again, will resume later this month.

The High Commissioner made these statements when he was on an official visit to Batticaloa to pay tribute to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Park in Batticaloa. Jha was accompanied by a member of parliament for Batticaloa Govinthan Karunakaran and Engineer N Sivalingam from the Batticaloa Municipal Council. 

When asked of connectivity between the North-East and Tamil Nadu, Jha affirmed that the ferry service would recommence from mid-May and in addition to sea connectivity, land connectivity is also being discussed. He said that increasing connectivity with Tamil Nadu was part of a long-term plan which would be executed in phases. 

“We are working with the Sri Lankan government to establish the land connection,” he said. “In this regard, the first round of talks has been completed. We are moving onto the second phase.”

“When I speak of connectivity, I mean all its dimensions – air, maritime, trade, digital, energy or people-to-people connectivity,” Jha told the annual dinner of the Sri Lanka-India Society. Earlier this year. “Daily flights between Jaffna and Chennai and launch of ferry services between India and Northern Sri Lanka are some of the latest steps in this direction.”

The ferry service between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, and Kankesanthurai (KKS) in Jaffna, was inaugurated on October 14, 2023. The high-speed ferry, operated by the Shipping Corporation of India, marked the revival of sea connectivity between Tamil Eelam and Tamil Nadu after a hiatus of 40 years. However, the service was later repeatedly postponed due to reported technical issues with the ferry.