In a letter to the BBC, A Saj U Mendis, Counsellor Economics at the High Commission of Sri Lanka says, "The delegation of Sri Lanka totally denies that it agreed for giving 'go ahead' signal for Sethusamudram Canal Project."

It further states that, "The Ministry Of foreign affairs of Sri Lanka has prepared a comprehensive proposal for the consideration by the Indian Government at the second round of bilateral talks discussions held on the August 1, 2005 in New Delhi. This document was personally handed over to the Head of the Indian Delegation by the Head of the Sri Lanka delegation."

Joint mechanism with India

The letter indicates the concerns of the Sri Lanka government as, "including but not limited to the establishment of a standing joint mechanism for exchange of information and to set up a common data base on, (a.) the hydrodynamic modelling; (b.)environmental measures; (c.)possible impact on fisheries resources; (d.) fisheries dependent communities and (e.) measures to cope with navigational emergencies."

Hewage not available, again

When requested, A Saj Mendis arranged the BBC to interview the head of delegation A Hewage in order to clarify the facts. A telephone number of the protocol officer Rasika was given to us and was instructed to contact him at a certain time. However, after several attempts, we were told the head of delegation had boarded the aeroplane to leave India even without the knowledge of the protocol officer.