Representational image only.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

“The Sri Lankan Cabinet has decided to implement the renovation of the Kankesanthurai Port in the Northern Province with India agreeing to grant the entire cost of the project,” a statement said on April 30.

Situated in the northern region of Sri Lanka, the Kankesanthurai Port or the KKS Port, with an area of approximately 16 acres, is located at a distance of 104 km (56 nautical miles) from Karaikal Port in Puducherry.

The direct passenger ship service connecting Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu to Kankesanthurai port near Jaffna covers a distance of 111 km (60 nautical miles) in approximately three and a half hours.

“Considering the importance of the project, the Indian government has agreed to grant the entire estimated cost of the project,” the statement said.

It added that the project implementation had been delayed as the Economic Value of Equity (EVE) estimated cost provided by consulting service agencies was higher than the relevant loan amount.

“Therefore, further discussions have been held with the Government of India regarding the possibility of completing the project under the Public Private Partnership Method,” the statement said. The original cabinet approval for the project was given on May 2, 2017.

Thereafter, the approval for offering Project Management Consultant Services was given on December 18, 2019. It was announced in March this year that the project’s full cost was USD 61.5 million.

A view of Katchatheevu in Sri Lanka.
| Photo Credit: L. Balachandar

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has not discussed the Katchatheevu issue so far as it was never raised, a government spokesman said in Colombo on April 2, after India’s ruling BJP blamed the Congress for ceding the tiny island to Colombo in 1974.

“The Cabinet did not discuss it as it was never raised,” Bandula Gunawardena, the Cabinet spokesman and minister of information told reporters here today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cited a media report to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress “callously” gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.

Also Read | Katchatheevu | What is the controversy all about?

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also slammed the Congress party and ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over the Katchchatheevu island issue.

On Monday, Jaishankar claimed that prime ministers from the Congress displayed indifference about Katchatheevu island as if they did not care and gave away Indian fishermen’s rights despite legal views to the contrary.

Citing details of the agreements between India and Sri Lanka first in 1974 and then in 1976, he said a recurring theme is the indifference shown by the central government and prime ministers of the day about the territory of India.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram has said that Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka to maintain good relations and to save the lives of lakhs of Tamils.

Mr. Chidambaram, a former Union Home Minister, wondered why the Prime Minister was raking up an issue that was settled in 1974.

That year, the Indira Gandhi government, to maintain good relations with Sri Lanka and to help lakhs and lakhs of Tamils there, negotiated with the island nation’s government.

Following negotiations, a settlement was made on Katchatheevu, a very small island of about 1.9 sq km, and India acknowledged Katchatheevu as belonging to Sri Lanka, he said.

In return, six lakh Tamils were allowed to come to India.

“They have come here, their families are here, they have got full freedom, they are breathing free air. Their children and grandchildren are here. The issue was closed 50 years ago,” Mr. Chidambaram said.