CHENNAI: One could hope to cruise through the length and breadth of Tamil Nadu’s large coastline if the Union Government’s proposal to launch ferry service from Chennai to Kanniyakumari is accepted by the Tamil Nadu Government.
Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday that the Union Government has proposed to Tamil Nadu for setting up of Water Transport Corporation at a cost of Rs 200 crore.
According to initial plans, the ferry services would be launched from Chennai to Kanniyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram.
Ferry service will go as far as Goa from Chennai: Nitin
An eternal optimist, Mr Nitin Gadkari said the ferry service could go as far as Goa from Chennai if things go in the right direction. The Union Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been stressing the need to launch inland water transport to link different cities of the country through coastline.
“We have given a proposal by which we can make a joint venture between Tamil Nadu government and our Ministry. Our stakeholder port will invest more than Rs 200 crore as equity in this joint venture,” Mr Gadkari said, while inaugurating several initiatives at the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near here.
The initial plan is to would launch ferry service from Chennai to Kanyakumari and to Thiruvananthapuram (in Kerala) via Kanyakumari. “We can even go upto Mumbai and Goa also,” Mr Gadkari said.
Once the ferry service is launched, it would take 14.5 hours to cover distance of 728 kilometre or 393 nautical miles from Chennai to Kanniyakumari.
To a specific question, the Shipping Minister said insurance companies would start disbursing compensation to people affected by the oil spill at the Ennore Port within the next 10 days. He also said India was in talks with Sri Lanka for developing the Colombo Port.
On the proposed Colachel port in Tamil Nadu, Gadkari said it was a cabinet decision to develop the facility there and asserted that the “project is intact.”
‘Ram Sethu will be protected at any cost’
Union Government is committed to implementing Sethusamudram project without causing any harm to the mythological Ram Sethu or Adam’s Bridge.
“At any cost, we will not destroy Ramasethu. It is very clear. Our stand has been made clear in the Parliament. But the Centre was committed to implementing the project with 4-5 options under its proposal,” he said here.
But, since the issue was sub-judice in the Supreme Court, its consent on besides cabinet approval was required, Mr Gadkari said, reiterating that they will never destroy that structure," he said.
The controversial Sethusamudram project, initiated during UPA-1, seeks to create a navigational channel in the Palk Strait that would make shorter the journey time of ships from the western coast to eastern coast, avoiding the present need to circumvent Sri Lanka. However, the project was shelved and a case is pending in the Supreme Court.
