Work on the St. Anthony’s Church has been stopped due to bad weather, and construction will resume after the rains end, Navy chief Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne said.

Bishop of Jaffna Bernard Gnanapragasam has requested that a church be built at the islet, located off Delft, Jaffna.

The Navy chief has noted India nor any other party had objected to the location of a church at Kachchativu, which India ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974.

However, Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha Jayaram has reportedly opposed the construction of the church, which she claimed was being done without the knowledge of Tamil Nadu fishermen.

She has sent a letter of protest to Indian premier Narendra Modi.