By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on December 2, 2010:
CHENNAI: As promised by Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan at a programme here a few days ago, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to start a passenger ferry service between Thoothukudi and the Lankan capital, Colombo.
Shipping Ministry sources said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed soon between India and Lanka for providing a joint mechanism for passenger transport between the countries. The Tuticorin Port Trust has been directed to create necessary infrastructure, like Customs and Immigration at the port.Once the MoU was signed, an operator would be identified soon to run the passenger shipping service and the process would be over in the next three months. The distance between Tuticorin and Colombo is about 152 nautical miles (260 km) and a ship journey will be about 10 to 12 hours.
The fare will be much cheaper than flight charges. In the second phase, the ferry service would be open between Rameswaram and Talaimannar in northern Lanka, the traditional sea trade link between the countries.
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