CHENNAI: A day after it was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid much fanfare, the ferry service between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, which was revived after a gap of four decades, was cancelled on Sunday due to poor patronage.

Sources said the operator was forced to cancel the service on Sunday, as only six to seven passengers booked for the trip to Sri Lanka. The ferry service between Nagapattinam port in Tamil Nadu to Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka was launched by the Prime Minister through video-conferencing on Saturday.

After the three-hour journey, the passengers were welcomed by the Sri Lankan authorities and on the return journey on Saturday evening, the State government officials received the passengers at the Nagapattinam port.

“As the number of bookings was very meagre, today’s ferry services are cancelled,” sources said but claimed that the service was likely to resume on Monday.