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Sharing power

Sri Lanka is facing a power crisis at the moment, with the National Grid unable to cope with the surging demand. Every year, the demand for mains electricity increases almost exponentially. The present Government has started several long overdue projects, but they will not come online for a few more years.

It is in this context that we should hail the proposal by Power and Energy W.D.J. Seneviratne for the construction of an India-Sri Lanka electricity transmission interconnection for bilateral power exchange.

The project envisages the construction of an electricity transmission interconnection between India and Sri Lanka via the Dhanushkody Palk Strait and Talaimannar connecting the CEB power system of Sri Lanka and the Southern Region Grid of India.

Once completed, it is expected to bring maximum economic benefits to both countries through the exchange of 1,000 MW of power, the Minister has said.

This will be a landmark project that will take relations between India and Sri Lanka to a new level.

There have been suggestions for several decades for an Indo-Lanka electricity sharing mechanism, but this will make those dreams a reality.

An Indian company is already involved in the construction of a power plant in the East that will add around 500 MW to the National Grid. These two projects, along with Norochcholai and Upper Kotmale will boost the country’s rural electrification drive.

In fact, the Cabinet recently granted approval to a memorandum submitted by Minister Seneviratne for the implementation of a rural electrification project with the assistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The 10 year Horizon-Development Framework (2006-2016) envisages the expansion of coverage of electricity in the country up to 96 per cent by 2016. The project will cover the electrification of 600 remote villages. The new power line and plants will be ideally placed to augment this programme.

Both countries should also contemplate providing cheaper telephone calls for their citizens between the two countries.

We are not aware of the exact technical details but the authorities should consider the possibility of laying a dedicated submarine telecom cable along with the proposed power line. That will help reduce costs as well.

The enhancement of travel facilities is also important. SriLankan is already the foreign carrier with the highest number of flights to India and Sri Lankan aviation authorities should open our skies for more Indian carriers originating from different cities in India. Sri Lanka already grants visas on arrival to Indians and India is reported to be considering reciprocating this move.

More stable conditions in the North should see the revival of Indo-Lanka ferry services, which would be much cheaper than even budget airlines.

Sri Lanka and India have already signed onto the Trans Asian Train Service, which will link 27 Asian countries and possibly link with the European train system to provide a seamless service from London to any part of Asia.

It is still not clear whether the project envisages the construction of a rail link between India and Sri Lanka, but a train connection on the lines of the UK-France Channel Tunnel would truly integrate Sri Lanka with the Asian continent.

Such a train service will indeed be a big boon for travellers from both countries and for tourists from other countries.

Such a move will also be commendable in the wider context of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, which will be holding its first summit in Colombo soon.

SAARC is eventually aspiring to become a borderless region in the mould of the European Union and even a single currency has been mooted.

The free movement of people and goods is a must for any region to thrive. The Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement has already created a major impact in terms of trade and Sri Lankan authorities are now scrutinising the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to derive the maximum benefits for Sri Lanka.

South-South cooperation is the way forward for developing countries, along with the concept ‘trade not aid’.

The projects being contemplated should equally benefit both India and Sri Lanka and contribute to their economic prosperity in the true spirit of SAARC.

SAARC: Towards greater integration in South Asia

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia. In terms of population, its sphere of influence is the largest of any regional organization: almost 1.5 billion people, the combined population of its member states.

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Madhu statue returns

Weakening LTTE ...and blessings for the country:

Little would one believe that a religious statue could signify a major turning point in a protracted battle between the State and a terrorist organisation. Yet the return of the much venerated statue of Our Lady of Madhu to the rapidly expanding Government held territory in the North earlier this week, signified the growing weakness of the LTTE,

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Hartley College completes 170 years in sphere of education

The arrival of the British in Sri Lanka laid the foundation for the beginning of the growth of the Methodist schools especially after it had removed the ban on the Missionaries by the East India Company by an Act of Parliament in 1813.

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