Wednesday, May 6, 2009

The Sethu Samudram


Gap The Bridge!

The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP) is currently one of the hottest issues in our country. But many are not aware of why is it actually being confronted. The controversy is not only based on religious beliefs, but also based on environmental, economic, defense, and scientific facts. The Ram Sethu starts at Dhanushkodi tip of Rameshwaram, continues as a chain of limestone shoals and ends at Mannar island of Sri Lanka. A group of geologists say that the sethu was formed due to crustal downwarping or block faulting, while others say it is due to continuous sand deposition and sedimentation with changes in mean sea level. Also, few believe that the breaking away of Sri Lanka from the Indian subcontinent could have lead to such a formation. On demolishing the bridge, the SSCP will create a navigable passage for the ships across the sethusamudram, thus eliminating the need to circumnavigate around Sri Lanka. This will save a travel distance of 350 to 400 nautical miles. It is said that it will directly benefit the shipping industry and EXIM trade and will bolster industrial development resulting in huge employment opportunities adding to our national economy.
But the protesters say that these economic advantages will not outweigh the irreparable and disastrous effects that the SSCP will impose on the ecological system. NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, a central Govt. agency) has reported that by dredging the sethu the turbidity of seawater in its vicinity will increase. This will prevent the sunlight to penetrate into the water body and thus the survival of marine flora and fauna will not be possible. Also marine assets like pearl and shanka may face extinction in those areas. The Gulf of Mannar (declared as a protected biosphere by UNESCO) is a habitat to many endangered species. Thus the Govt. should preserve this biosphere as per Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. SSCP may also diminish the rich fish stocks in the biosphere close to Ram Sethu, which will affect more than one lakh fishing families (noth in India & Sri Lanka), says a convener of Coastal Action Network. NEERI has stated that the disposal of dredged material will also be a problem, since it may have adverse effect at disposal site.
Moreover, since sethusamudram is quite shallow (10 meter depth), only small and medium sized vessels will be able to navigate and futher deepening of the channel will be both economically and environmentally unviable.
From defense point of view, critics say that the SSCP will convert historic waters to international waters, which will dilute our national defense system. Also, it is expected that the LTTE will have an easy access into our country. Tsunami experts have stated that Ram Sethu stopped tsunami of Dec 2004 from traveling to Indian west coast. Experts have warned that if next tsunami hits, SSCP canal will allow tsunami energy to pass though to the Gulf of Mannar and destroy the Kerala coast.
According to BARC, 30% of world’s thorium deposits are found on the beaches of Kerala. Scientists estimate that thorium can be a source for nuclear power that can support about 387 years of electricity generation at 2030 capacity levels. A former director of GSI (Gological Srvey of India) has stated that ocean currents have been depositing minerals on Indian southern coastline because of Ram Sethu. Thus, SSCP can pose danger to the thorium and other rich mineral deposits along the beaches lying in proximity to the channel.
Not only this. Ram Sethu has historic and religious values. The Chennai High Court has stated that Ram Sethu is a man-made bridge. Geologists have found loose sand layers of two to three meter depths below the coral reefs over the entire stretch and hard rocks were found several meters below the sand layer. They say that coral reefs normally form above rocks and hence Sethu cannot be a natural formation. Unless somebody had transported those reefs, they could not have come there. It is said that the dept. of Earth-Science has found rich assemblage on mesolithic-microlithic tools and human fossils on both sides of the bridge.
The new argument over Ram Sethu is that if lord Ram had constructed the Sethu, then he had also destroyed it. So where is the Sethu? Well, what explanation of its destruction can the believers provide to such people who need an evidence for Ram’s existence itself. It is really sad to know that Govt. of India (India, which is known as Punya bhoomi, the land of deities, saints and scholars) needs to have a proof for Ram’s existence. Even if Vishnu reincarnates as Ram and appears, it seems he would be asked to build the Sethu again to prove himself!

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