Strait hit

sri lanka and India might be on a collision course over the dredging of the Palk Strait, which separates the two countries, after the Indian government approved the controversial Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project ( see Down To Earth, 'After 150 years', June 15, 2005) . The Rs 2,427.4 crore project has not yet been endorsed by the Sri Lankan government due to environmental concerns. The neighbouring country says India's approval to the scheme went contrary to the assurance, given by its foreign secretary Shyam Saran during his visit to Sri Lanka in late April 2005, that India would consult Sri Lanka before taking a decision on the project.

On May 30, 2005, Sri Lanka's environment and natural resources minister A H M Fowzie said the Sri Lankan government had yet to reach a decision on the project: "There are two committees appointed by the environment and foreign ministries on the project and the government is awaiting their feedback." Besides, the Indian government has not yet sent the second batch of scientists, who were to investigate the project's effects in Sri Lanka along with their Sri Lankan counterparts, he added. More recently, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, who met on June 3, 2005, at New Delhi, decided that the two countries should continue technical consultations on the project .

India is keen to dredge the canal to provide a shorter route for ships going to and coming from its southern parts. Currently, these ships have to go around Sri Lanka, since the Palk Strait is not deep enough for large vessels. But Sri Lankan and Indian environmentalists have warned that the proposed canal could have disastrous consequences for marine and coastal ecosystems.