Sri Lanka-India Ferry Service Resumes After 25 Years

Posted June 14th, 2011 at 8:55 am (UTC-5)
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Ferry service has resumed between Sri Lanka and India for the first time in more 25 years after it was halted due to the island nation's civil war.

The 1,044-passenger Scotia Prince docked at Colombo's port Tuesday after leaving the southern Indian port of Tuticorin.

The Indian ferry will initially make two trips per week, with each journey taking more than 10 hours.

Officials say a Sri Lankan ferry would soon be added to the route.

Ferry service between the south Indian town of Rameswaram and Sri Lanka's northwestern town of Talaimannar came to a halt in the 1980s due to the civil war.

The Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, ending a nearly three-decade civil war.

Southern India is home to millions of ethnic Tamils, who retain close cultural links with Sri Lanka's Tamil community.