Karaikal-Jaffna ferry in 3 to 4 months: Minister

Talking to reporters after a meeting with Puducherry Ministers and officials here Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya  said that  several Tamil people from Sri Lanka come to India for religious purposes.

Besides, several Sri Lankan people also desires to visit Buddhist places in India. The ferry service would facilitate their visit for spiritual proposes. It would not only give boost to tourism, but also improve bilateral cooperation between India and Sri Lanka,he said.

He further said a committee under Chief Secretary along with secretary Port and secretary Tourism would be constituted to take the proposal forward. The committee would go into the nitty gritty and submit a report.

The project would be on Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) basis, where  the operator would operate the service, Karaikal Port will be the facilitator and the state  and Union government would extend support, he added.