Much awaited ferry service resumes again from KKS, Jaffna to Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu

With only USD 114 for a return ticket, travellers from across the Palk Straits can travel between Kankesanthurai (KKS), Jaffna to Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu as the much awaited ferry service is scheduled to resume operations from tomorrow onwards.

The one-way ticket price inclusive of taxes for ferry service, which covers 60 nautical miles (110 Km) from Nagapattinam to KKS, is fixed at USD 59 (Rs 17,641) inclusive of India's eighteen per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) whereas from KKS to Nagapattinam, it is USD 55 (Rs 16,445) after the Sri Lankan government agreed to reduce deviation tax by charging only USD 5 from passengers leaving Sri Lanka by passenger vessels and ships.

Meanwhile, India has decided to bear the cost towards applicable taxes and other charges to the tune of over Rs 25 million per month for a period of one year, according to the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

Each passenger is allowed 60 kg of luggage each in the ferry service vessel "Sivangangai ".

S. Niranjan Nandagopan, Managing Director of IndSri Ferry Service Pvt Ltd, a private venture that operates the service told reporters in Jaffna that the service will further strengthen people-to-people ties with religious pilgrimage trips of all faiths, leisure activities and the recently introduced

Ramayana Trails.

"We are looking at Ramayana Trails. The present Indian government is pushing that. There are a lot of things to see regarding Ramayana in Sri Lanka," he said.

Earlier, the Indian government also extended a grant assistance of USD 63.65 million for the refurbishment of the KKS Harbour, which was earlier envisaged to come under a Line of Credit.

After nearly four decades, the Indo- Lanka ferry service began in October last year but it was put on hold after a few days due to bad weather conditions.

The last ferry service operated between Mannar and Thoothukdi until 1983.