Intro: In the wake of Sethu Samudram Project, it is a known fact that the historically and religiously important Rama’s Bridge would be demolished to make way for a new shipping canal between India and Sri Lanka. It would seem the most natural thing to have a channel that cuts the sailing time from the east to the west coast and the west coast to the east by a day and saves a distance of about five hundred nautical miles. And yet, the proposed Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) could turn out India’s worst environmental nightmare, potentially deplete thorium reserves, risk a LTTE-Indian Navy confrontation drawing India unwillingly into Sri Lanka’s civil war, and become a financial liability.
Highlights: Why Rama Sethu should be Saved.......
View points by:Dr.S Kalyanaraman, Director, Saraswathi River Research CenterEx Director, Asian Development BankDr.
&
TAD Murthy, Ph.D in Oceanography and MeteorologyProfessor of Civil Engineering at University of Ottawa
Economy:
1. It would affect the lively hood of 6.3 LAKH fishermen in Tamilnadu and Kerala.
2. The maintenance cost is about 1000 CRORES per anum, while the project itself is only 3000 crores.
3. It would save only 24 crore rupees worth of fuel every year.
4. Canal will be closed with sand after the next tsunami, the project goes waste.
National Security (Very Serious):
1. It would pave way for the Historical waters between Srilanka and India to be declared as International waters and give easy access to America and Chinese War ships, very close (less than 15 kms) to the coast of our country.
2. It would wash off MILLIONS of TONNES of THORIUM, which has been deposited for the last 17 million years due to the churning action of the Sethu.Thorium is a radio active metal and key to the BREEDER REACTOR project of India. Atomic scientists have also requested to stop SSCP. Breeder reactor is at present successful only in India and the US. (Understand why America is keen on this project) Such deposits are no where else found in the world.This would supply to 300 YEARS of electricity needs of our country.
Social:
1. The damage would be total in case of next Tsunami which has 99% chance of occurrence in the next 10 years.
2. Tutucorin, Kanyakumari, Rameshwaram, Kochi ports would be wiped off the map in the next tsunami.
3. Lives of 2 CRORE people would be affected in the next Tsunami, as the canal would increase the strength of tsunami four fold.
4. Entire coast of south TN and Kerala would be devastated.It is a symbol of culture and heritage of our country and sentiment of 85 crore people of our country.
Details:- The Centre and the Tamil Nadu government insist that SSCP will bring international shipping traffic to the Tuticorin Port. The Port is situated in the Gulf of Mannar/ Palk Bay/ Palk Strait (GoMPBPS) area where the maritime boundaries of India and Sri Lanka meet. Presently, oceanliners skip Tuticorin and instead anchor at Colombo because GoMPBPS has an average draught of 7.5 metres. Almost in the middle of this area lies a sandstone reef called Ramar Bridge (Adam’s Bridge) where the draught shallows to less than three metres.
SSCP conceives dredging a one hundred and sixty seven kilometre long, twelve metre deep and three hundred metre wide channel in this region cutting through the Ramar Bridge, which has separately angered the Sangh Parivar. The Tamil Nadu government hopes that this channel will become an alternative, shorter sea lane to going around Sri Lanka for ships bound either for Chennai or to South East Asia and beyond.
The state government believes that with Tuticorin, about fifteen smaller ports will also benefit from international shipping in the GoMPBPS area. Off and on, security dimensions have been given to SSCP, but never very convincingly. One argument is that in an Indian Ocean war, a major rival power could prevent the Indian Western and Eastern fleet from joining up for common action, and that the SSCP could prevent this. To this writer, an Indian Navy spokesman did not deny such a scenario. But he added, “Look, the Navy has nothing to do with the project. We were not consulted at any stage. It is entirely a Shipping Ministry project.”
On one hand, this would not matter. It is no secret that the Minister of Shipping, Road, Transport and Highways, T.R.Baalu, of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), is pushing the project at the behest of the Tamil Nadu chief minister, M.Karunanidhi. Perhaps with the exception of the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) chief, J.Jayalalithaa, no Tamil Nadu political leader or party is opposed to SSCP. All of them believe that it will miraculously turn Tuticorin into a trade hub in the region much like Singapore. Except that our researches show this won’t happen. But rather, that the project would make the peninsular region more vulnerable to tsunami and provoke unprecedented environmental degradation.
Not only is SSCP economically unviable, the well known international tsunami expert, Professor Tadepalli “Tad” S.Murthy, has warned that it would draw in any tsunami originating in the Sumatra/ Andaman Sea area to hit the west coast and most devastatingly South Kerala. More immediately, the project will kill South East Asia and South Asia’s first marine biosphere in the almost still, calm waters of the Gulf of Mannar. This biosphere is home to more than three thousand six hundred rare plant and animal species.
Four other factors should weigh in against the project. One is the confirmed heritage value of the Ramar Bridge, dated by The Sri Lankan Archeological Department to close to 2 million years old & by the Centre For Remote Sensing, Bharathidasan University to close to 3500 years old.
Second, GoMPBPS is a major sedimentation sink for the east coast. While the causes for the sedimentation are Indian/ Sri Lankan rivers and long shore currents, what makes the area a sink is perhaps the Ramar Bridge. It acts as a natural breakwater and forces ocean currents the longer way around Sri Lanka. By that token, Ramar Bridge has also made the marine biosphere possible. And now, tsunami experts by and large agree that the Bridge considerably diminished the intensity of the 26 December 2004 tsunami. While Nagappattinam north of GoMPBPS and Kanyakumari to the south were brutally impacted by the tsunami, places within the region themselves escaped more lightly.
Third, because GoMPBPS is a sedimentation sink, there is frenetic land building happening to its immediate north. Experts like G.Victor Rajamanickam, Professor of Earth Sciences at Thanjavur’s Tamil University and India's eminent coastal geo-morphologist and mineralogist, say that this land building activity will likely connect Vedaranyam to Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula in another four hundred years. His studies reveal that the Palk Strait has grown shallower by an astonishing six metres between 1960 and 1986, which would suggest that this Strait is being silted in at the rate of twenty four centimetres a year. The Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project goes against this natural land building activity, and would ravage a rare natural breakwater, and condemn the unique environment of the region.
Four, the project will kill the fishing industry and destroy the livelihood of about 3.5 lakh fishermen in six coastal districts of Tamil Nadu. Already, dredging activity has scared the fish to other areas, reducing catches. These waters have anyhow become dangerous for Indian fishermen. Inadvertently crossing into Sri Lankan waters, they face firing from the Sri Lankan Navy, which accuses them of smuggling arms for the Tamil Tigers. On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu police chief has newly disclosed that the LTTE has had a hand in the killing of Indian fishermen and even capturing them. With the upcoming project, the fishermen face a bleak future. While the shipping minister, Baalu, makes an unacceptable comparison between the project and alleged increases in catches with the development of the Tuticorin Port, an NGO representing the fishermen, Coastal Action Network (CAN), has filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court which is due for hearing in July.
Observations: The observations of the geologist conclude that the climate and soil conditions in the Bay of Bengal between the two land masses did not allow for an undersea volcanic ridge (a long raised strip) as there was no seismic activity in this area. 'Nor can it be a submarine linear platform or plateau from a linear block of rock mass that rises up between two parallel faults or crustal fractures because such structures are not found in this area. The present formation could not be a coral ridge as coral islands were scattered in the coastal and offshore areas and not in the present site which was running at right angles to the coastline. Also, the undersea land strip could not be a submerged hill or an anticlinal (sloping downward away from a common crest) ridge as the bridge was found in sediments which were not subjected to any folding activity.
New Shipping Canal route damages Rama Setu Status: 12 April 2007: About 1.4 % dredging done in the Rama Sethu area (35.05 kms.)
Geological Explanations :
Geological, archaeological evidence: Dept. of Earth Sciences (March 2007)
Since the calcareous sand stones and Corals are less dense than normal hard rock and quite compact, probably these were used by the ancients to form a connecting link to Sri Lanka, on the higher elevations of the Ram Setu ridge and this is analogous to modern day causeway.
Around Rameswaram, there are raised Teri formations that supported a rich assemblage of mesolithic – microlithic tools indicating the presence of strong human habitation and activity in these areas as early as 8000 to 9000 years B.P and as recent as 4000 years B.P. On Sri Lanka side there are indications of human habitation extending to late Pleistocene (about 13,000 B.P) based on bone and fossils of human and animal form.
All these point to a flourishing human activity on both sides of Ram Setu and probably when the sea levels were just right the link between India and Sri Lanka could have been established.
Experts Opinion:
Ø By Srinivasan V, consultant Geologist (April 2007) :-
The origin of Rama's Bridge, which exists between Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka and which has later been renamed as Adam's Bridge by the British is examined geologically to find out whether it is a geological feature or whether it is a man-made one.
A submarine linear ridge originates either by the coalescence of volcanic islands appeared as a chain one by one regularly over a moving plate when it reaches a hot spot like that of Hawaii or in the form of a ridge parallel to the coast as in the case of Mid-Atlantic ridge. These two cases represent volcanic phenomena in a permanent volcanic environment. But there is no volcanic activity either in the land area or in the ocean region of Tamil Nadu because it forms part of the South Indian (Peninsular) shield which is considered to be geologically old and stable. Therefore, in the Bay of Bengal, between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, there is no volcanic activity so as to give rise to a submarine volcanic ridge like those mentioned above in the location of the said bridge.
A submarine linear platform or a linear plateau can form a horst, which is a linear block of rock-mass that rises up between two parallel faults or crustal fractures. Such structures and landforms are found only in the land area of Tamil Nadu (in the East-West Salem-Attur belt and in the basement rocks of Cauvery basin). But such structures and landforms are not found in its ocean region of Bay of Bengal in general and in the location of the said bridge in particular.Further coral islands formed in a chain can also produce a submarine ridge by the accumulation of the dead coral polybs. But in the Rameswaram and Tuticorin regions of Bay of Bengal, there are coral islands, but scattered in the coastal and offshore areas, and not in the said bridge area which is transverse to the coastline.
Similar to the submergence of Kumari (cape Commorin) hills in the Indian ocean, no such submergence of a hill to form the said bridge is observed.The possibility of this bridge being a submarine anticlinal ridge is also ruled out because the bridge area is located in the recent sediments, which are not yet subjected to any folding activity. Hence this submarine feature, called Rama's Bridge, cannot be included among the geological features described so far; and thus it remains to be man-made to connect the two landmasses of Tamil Nadu (India) and Sri Lanka, both being separated by the sea. That is, it would have been developed manually to cross the ocean when the sea level was lower than the present one.
Sethusamudram Canal History & Facts:-
Ø Environmental implications of the Sethusamudram project
1. Effect on marine life:-
Though there has been a demand from various quarters for the implementation of the project, there is also opposition to it from environmentalists. They point out that the dredging of the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar could affect the ecology of the zone by changing currents, which could:
Ø Cause changes in temperature, salinity, turbidity and flow of nutrients.
Ø Cause oil spills from ship and other marine pollution to reach the coastal areas and specifically the sensitive ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar.
Ø Lead to higher tides and to more energetic waves, and hence to coastal erosion.
Ø Affect the local sea temperature and thereby alter the pattern of sea-breezes and hence affect rainfall patterns.
Ø Dredging the canal could stir up the dust and toxins that lie beneath the sea bed, affecting marine life.
Ø The emptying of bilge water from ships traveling through the hitherto impassable areas could disperse invasive species through the ecosystems of the area.
These effects could endanger precious marine species and wealth. The Gulf of Mannar has 3,600 species of plants and animals and is India's biologically richest coastal region. Mammal species which abound in the area are sperm whales, dolphins and dugongs. The Gulf of Mannar is especially known for its corals: the portion in Indian territorial waters has 117 species of corals, belonging to 37 genera. Associated with these ecosystems are many varieties of fish and crustaceans. Marine life on the Sri Lankan side, which is better protected, is even richer. The Bar Reef off the Kalpitiya peninsular alone has 156 species of coral and 283 of fish; there are two other coral reef systems around Mannar and Jaffna. There are extensive banks of oysters, as well as Indian Chank and Sea Cucumbers, especially in the seas adjacent to Mannar. The pearl fisheries south of Mannar, which inspired Georges Bizet's opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles, have not been productive for many years, indicating the fragility of these ecosystems in the face of overfishing and of relatively minor changes in the habitat.
A modelling exercise carried out by Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) indicated that the project would increase the water flow from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar, disturbing the inland water balance as well as the eco-systems in the Gulf.
2. Fishing and livelihood:-
On July 2, 2005, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project amidst protests from fishermen and environmentalists. Nearly 600 were arrested. The fishermen protested because they feared that the dredging would deepen the sea waters and prevent them from venturing into deep sea (which is currently shallow), where their livelihoods lie.
3. Legendary:-
Hindu’s claim that this land bridge is the site of the famous Rama's Bridge, making it a historical, religious and cultural monument of great significance. For this reason, many, oppose the project.
Several claims and estimates have been made regarding the age of Rama's bridge and its relation to the Indian epic Ramayana.
a) Rama's bridge is 3,500 years old. The carbon dating of the beaches roughly matches the dates of Ramayana, its link to the epic needs to be explored.
b) The bridge's unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.
Ø THE VIEWS OF BHABHA ATOMIC RESEARCH CENTRE (BARC)
*The BARC has estimated that the sands of the Southern shores of Bharat contain an estimated 3,60,000 tonnes of Thorium, the essential fissile material used in the field of Atomic energy which is enough to last a hundred years. But this natural wealth will be completely lost if the canal project is implemented.*If that happens then we may have to extend our begging bowl to America for procuring fissile material for our atomic energy needs. This is the secret agenda of the American administration. Has the Indian government surrendered to this plan of America ?
An Article From The Organiser : Editorial
Don't destroy our heritage (Ram setu) : Organiser Editorial
April 3, 2007
Sethusamudram Channel Project in Tamil Nadu has become a rallying point for Hindus, once again highlighting the total disregard of the UPA government to Hindu sensitivities. For the last three years Hindu organisations led by Hindu Munnani under the respected leader Shri Ramgopalan have been campaigning for the protection of Ram Sethu, which is the most ancient underwater bridge, believed to have been built by Shri Ram. It is sacred for the Hindus. It is a living legend of our great heritage. And the gripping description of this astounding human endeavour has become the folklore of the great Hindu tradition. The Valmiki Ramayana has a scintillating narrative of the marvellous saga in great details. The architect who led the construction was Nala, and this fact is referred to in the Mahabharata by Veda Vyasa. Modern studies including satellite imageries of NASA have established the existence of the remains of the bridge. The dredging work for the Sethusamudram Project had to be abandoned thrice because of the machine getting damaged at the seabed hit by the mountain-like rock formations. The organisations demanding suspension of the Sethusamudram Project in its present format submitted a memorandum signed by over a million people to the President of India Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam in November last. With every passing day the popular outrage over the destruction of Ram Sethu is getting louder. The demand for a relook into the Sethusamudram Project is not confined to religious leaders and Hindus. Millions of families of fishermen who eke out a living by the sea have formed a protest group under the banner Tamil Nadu Fishermen Sangh headed by Shri Kuppu Ram. Scientists and environmentalists are apprehensive of the huge damage the destruction of Ram Sethu can do to the mainland. It is believed that the tsunami impact was largely absorbed by this protective rock shield in the seabed. These scientists argue that a similar underwater quake in the Indian Ocean in future, in the absence of such natural protection, can submerge large parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. This will prove a cynical man-made tragedy, if in the name of development such natural protective wall in the sea is wantonly destroyed. Natural scientists are worried over the irretrievable loss of flora and fauna. It is feared that the Project will prove a calamity to large number of rare species in the sea. Archaeologists have expressed their desire to undertake further study on the authenticity and historicity of Ram Sethu. Citing all these reasons the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa has opposed the Sethusamudram Project in its ongoing format. Thus opposition to the project has come from all quarters, political, religious, scientific, archaeological and environmental. The BJP has appointed a committee under the former union HRD minister and senior party leader Dr Murli Manohar Joshi to ascertain the facts about the widespread apprehension and resentment at the impending destruction of the sacred monument. After visiting the site, speaking to a large cross section of people and assessing the economic and environmental impact, Dr Joshi in a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh asked for the immediate suspension of work at the project site till it is redesigned incorporating the alternative plan to save the ancient structure. Now what is it that makes the UPA so adamant as to not give any heed to these pleas? Is it enjoying a vicarious pleasure from the latent Hindu anguish? Or is it that it is determined to do anything and everything only to damage and destroy all traces of the great Hindu tradition? It is impossible to fathom that the government has not thought it prudent enough on its part to invite all the parties concerned and address the issue afresh and give it a relook, to satisfy all sections involved in the agitation. This is the least it can do as the organisations asking for a re-evaluation have a scientific and viable alternative plan. But the government has taken a grand standing on the issue as if it is a matter of prestige. So far the agitationists have been peaceful and they have only been asking for negotiations. But this government, it seems, will retreat only in the face of Nandigram type of pro-active action. The government's intention is suspect because it has in the last three years either denied support or shelved a series of projects which would have richly added to our understanding of the past and writing, rather reconstruction of our history. This attitudinal allergy has done immense damage to the hallowed heritage site of Hampi, the UPA has folded up the ambitious Saraswati River Project on purely political considerations. As commented on a number of occasions on these columns, it refused funding to the prestigious and path-breaking Dwaraka offshore archaeology excavation project. In the budget session of Parliament, Minister for Culture Smt Ambika Soni informed the Rajya Sabha that she was not aware and was not interested in finding out if there was a Ram Sethu off Rameshwaram, though Hindus all over the world believe and worship it. What is the message that one gets from all these? Is it that the government is uninterested in preserving and studying India's ancient heritage? Or is it wary of their political significance? And more plainly put, is it also part of UPA's vote bank agenda? Whatever be the consideration, the Sethusamudram episode has once again brought the central government face to face with the national resolve to protect Ram Sethu.
http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=178&page=5
An Article From Rediff.com
Why the Ram Setu must not be destroyed by Tarun Vijay
Sethusamudram, a project to create alternative shorter route for ships to cross the Gulf of Mannar, is a wonderful idea -- one which is more than 150 years old. The channel, originally an idea of a British commander named A D Taylor was put forth in 1860. In 1955, the Government of India set up the Sethusamudram project committee to look into the feasibility of the project and five routes were discussed till 2001 but nothing happened. The National Democratic Alliance government sanctioned a few crore rupees to study the project but before a final decision on the route could be taken, the government lost power.
The official web site of the project says, 'Ships originating from the west of India and destined for Chennai, Ennore, Vishakapatnam, Paradeep, Haldia and Kolkata have to travel around the Sri Lankan coast resulting in increase of travel distance and time. Apart from this ships belonging to Indian Navy and Coast Guard need also to traverse around Sri Lanka. In order to reduce the steaming distances between the east and west coast of India and to improve the navigation within territorial waters of India, a navigation channel connecting the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay through Adam's Bridge has been envisaged so that the ships moving between the east and west coasts of India need not go around Sri Lanka.' The total cost of the project is Rs 2,427 crores (Rs 24.27 billion).
But due to political expediency and a pathetic problem of a 'secular amnesia' about heritage matters, it has got a controversial hue, which could have been avoided if some transparency was maintained and points of collective sensitivities and faith were not ignored. The project is fine, but the present route is not, as it involves destruction of a bridge believed to have been built by Lord Rama and Muslims and Christians believe it to be Adam's creation.
Foreigners and Indians alike have described it as Rama's bridge since ancient times in their maps and travelogues. The first time someone called it Adam's Bridge was in 1804 by James Rennell, the first surveyor general of the East India Company. Even if the Government of India prefers to use the name Adam's Bridge, it simply proves that not only Hindus but Muslims and Christians too have a reverence for the bridge it is going to destroy.
Now when the media and political leaders are busy with the Uttar Pradesh election and exit polls, the Sethusamudram dredgers are busy destroying a great world heritage site India has.
The Ram Setu or Adam's Bridge connects India's Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka's Talaimannar. A movement has begun to safeguard it at the shores of Rameshwaram on April 18. Two former judges of the Supreme Court, Justice K T Thomas and Justice V R Krishna Iyer, none of them close to the saffron side, have warned the government against destroying the Ram Setu.
It is ironical that a government which changes the metro rail route to protect the Qutub Minar, built with the material of destroyed temples, stops a corridor to protect the Taj Mahal's surroundings and spends crores of rupees to showcase ancient potteries and jewellery in heavily guarded museums, is destroying a unique symbol of national identity and an icon well preserved in our minds since ages. Even a child knows that a bridge was built by the friends of Lord Rama using floating stones and Rama's army marched over it to Lanka to rescue Sita and destroy the evil regime of Ravana.
Hence during Dussehra every year and in dance dramas depicting Rama's life enacted across the globe, specially in East Asia, they never ever fail to mention the Setu Bandhan or the construction of Rama's bridge. Apart from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata also refers to the continued protection of Nala Setu following Sri Rama's command. Kalidasa's Raghuvamsham also refers to the Setu. So does the Skanda Purana (III 1.2.1-114), the Vishnu Purana (IV 4.40-49), the Agni Purana (V-XI), the Brahma Purana (138.1-40).
That is the memory so beautifully adopted by the Geological Survey of India in its logo, which describes India in this line etched at the bottom of its insignia -- Aasetu Himachal, meaning India is spread between the Bridge and the Himalayas. That is the Ram Setu Bridge on the southern tip of our motherland, an identity of the nation, under destruction now.
The credit of digging up material regarding the Ram Setu and providing impeccable factual content goes to Kalyan Raman, a former senior executive of the Asian Development Bank. He astounded even the government with his material on the entire project. His findings have stirred up protests from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha. Ashok Singhal of the VHP is spearheading a movement to protect the Ram Setu. He addressed a big public meeting in Rameshwaram with religious heads and Dr Subramanian Swamy. BJP leader and former Union human resources development minister Dr Murli Manohar Joshi has written to the prime minister, urging him to stop the destruction of the great heritage site.
The government, very 'secular and fair' indeed, tries not to remember or give any credence to what Hindus, Muslims and Christians believe, But this is what NASA says anout the bridge, 'Exploring space with a camera by NASA's [193] Gemini XI, this photograph from an altitude of 410 miles encompasses all of India, an area of 1,250 000 square miles,' George M Low, then the deputy director, Manned Spacecraft Center, NASA, notes. 'Bombay is on the west coast, directly left of the spacecraft's can-shaped antenna, New Delhi is just below the horizon near the upper left. Adam's Bridge between India and Ceylon, at the right, is clearly visible...' We can see the picture dramatically resembles the description given in Kalidasa's Raghuvamsham. Kalidasa wrote, (sarga 13): 'Rama, while returning from Sri Lanka in Pushpaka Vimaana told Sita: "Behold, Sita, My Setu of mountains dividing this frothy ocean is like the milky way dividing the sky into two parts".'
The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the bridge thus, 'Adam's Bridge also called Rama's Bridge, chain of shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India.'
Apart from such issues of heritage and belief, there are genuine concerns regarding security and the tsunamis' impact increasing in case the Ram Setu is destroyed. If the new channel is created through the present Rama's bridge, international ships would pass through it making a de facto international boundary between India and Sri Lanka, facilitating an increased alien presence, burdening our navy to a great extent.
So far the sea between India and Sri Lanka has been recognised as historic waters, though the United States has been pressurising to have it declared as international waters and said in a naval notification in 2005 that it does not accept the sea between India and Sri Lanka as 'historic'. The US declaration and the role of the Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency to implement the Sethu Samudram Canal Project coupled with the haste with which the project was inaugurated, has given rise to many unanswered questions.
The US Navy operational directive refusing to accept the sea between India and Sri Lanka as 'historic' was made on June 23, 2005. The Prime Minister's Office sent some queries in March 2005 to N K Raghupathy, chief of the Tuticorin Port Trust. He sent answers to the PMO's queries on June 30, 2005 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the project on July 2, 2005. Why were the queries sent to the TPT and not to an agency which had scientific authority to look into the geological and maritime aspects of the project? Why did the prime minister and the UPA chairperson rush to inaugurate the project without, prima facie, having the time to look into the answers given by the TPT chief? Why was the present route okayed which essentially requires the destruction of the Ram Setu, while other options, closer to Dhanushkodi, which did not touch the Ram Setu were ignored?
Local fishermen, Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike oppose the present route and are demanding alternative channels, which are available. They say the present channel would destroy marine life and corals. This will kill the trade in shankas (shells) that has a turnover in excess of Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) per annum. Invaluable thorium deposits would be affected, which are too important for our nuclear fuel requirements.
Professor Tad Murthy, the world renowned tsunami expert, who advised the Government of India on the tsunami warning system and edited the Tsunami Journal for over 20 years, has also warned that the present Setu Samudram route may result in tsunami waves hitting Kerala more fiercely. In a reply to a query regarding the Sethusanmudram's impact, he wrote, 'During the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, the southern part of Kerala was generally spared from a major tsunami, mainly because the tsunami waves from Sumatra region travelling south of the Sri Lankan island, partially diffracted northward and affected the central part of the Kerala coast. Since the tsunami is a long gravity wave (similar to tides and storm surges) during the diffraction process, the rather wide turn it has to take spared the south Kerala coast. On the other hand, deepening the Sethu Canal might provide a more direct route for the tsunami and this could impact south Kerala.'
The issue concerns us all, and should be taken up as Indians, without getting entangled in party lines and political games. The Ram Setu or Adam's Bridge belongs to all humanity, being an important heritage site; hence the government should not allow it to become another issue affecting Hindu sensitivities. Nobody is opposing the Sethu Samudram Project, only a realignment of the route is being asked, as the present one destroys the Ram Setu.
Tarun Vijay is Editor, Panchjanya, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Hindi weekly.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/25tarun.htm
Images By NASA:-
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