Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has inaugurated a $540m deep-sea dredging project in ocean straits between India and Sri Lanka. BBC quoted Manmohan Singh as saying that the shipping channel was "a boon" for the people of the southern state of Tamil Nadu. It will for the first time provide a continuous route within Indian waters. Singh said it was one of the most ambitious projects to be ever conceived in the Indian port sector. "It will be beneficial to small fishermen, because travel time between the eastern and western coast will come down, " he said. "It will also lead to all-round development of Tamil Nadu and Coromandel coast." Singh said that every effort would be made to preserve the country's marine life and preserve the livelihoods of fishermen. Indian Shipping Minister TR Balu said that sandstone on two stretches along the 167km (104 mile) channel would be dredged to form the Sethusamudhram Shipping Channel Project. It will allow ships to travel between India's west and east coasts without circumnavigating Sri Lanka. He said the new channel would have a depth of 12 meters and a width of 300 meters for two-way traffic. When completed the project will enable local and international ships to save around 36 hours sailing time, cutting out a distance of nearly 400 nautical miles.
