Lanka -plans undersea power grid link with India

Aug 28, 2011 |

Bengaluru

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Sri Lanka is planning to set up a power grid connection between the island nation and India which is facing growing requirement for electricity, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam said on Saturday.

"The plan is at a conceptual level. We are doing a feasibility study... and plan to set up an undersea power transmission line between India and Sri Lanka (Anurhadhapura)," Kariyawasam told reporters here.

The idea is to meet the increasing demand for electricity. "In the current context of India's power requirement, it may be very right for Sri Lanka to sell power to India and vice-versa. We have lot of excess capacity in terms of wind power," he added.

On the situation in Jaffna in the aftermath of the war which led to the decimation of LTTE, Kariyawasam said Sri Lanka was in the process of rebuilding, reconstruction and reconciliation. Of the 2.90 lakh Tamilians displaced, only 5,000 remain to be resettled.

He also said of the 11,000 LTTE cadre, 7,000 have been rehabilitated and otheres remained to be resettled.

Kariyawasam said Sri Lankan government is planning to commence ferry services between Taliamanar in Sri Lanka and Dhanushkodi near Rameswaram in India. "...Dhanushkodi is a flourishing tourist and pilgrimage town ...," he added.

To a question on rehabilitation of refugees in Tamil Nadu camps, Kariyawasam said Sri Lankan government welcomes those who want to return on their volition but would not force them. There were nearly 50,000 refugees in Tamil Nadu, he added.

On Sri Lanka's economy, Kariyawasam said its GDP growth was 8.5 per cent and per capita income stood at USD 2,400. "We have been ble to bring down inflation to five per cent."

Asked which was a friendly country India or China, Kariyawasam said "all countries are friends and India is our relative ... I believe you all agree relatives are closer than friends."

He said Sri Lanka would not do any business with those countries that would harm India's interests."We are conscious ... if there is any trouble in India, it will affect us. Therefore we will not do anything with those countries that will harm India's interests. But this should not stop us from making friends with China as it is a growing powerhouse," Kariyawasam said.

"We are using China as we are using India for mutual benefits. It is not a serious matter between India and Sri Lanka, he added.

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