Adam's bridge !!

Disclaimar: The opinion expressed here is not authoritative and not intended to hurt anyone's sentiments.

What is it?
* A continuous stretch of land thru Sea that connects the south-eastern tip of India and noth-eastern tip of SriLanka.
* Made of sand and rock.
* 48 Km long
* The waters near this structure are shallow (varying from 3 to 30ft).

Origin of the bridge
* Bridge dates back to 1 - 2 million years.
* The origin of the bridge is unknown. Though references to the bridge can be found in Hindu mythology,a concrete(!!)
evidence to prove that it is man-made is yet to emerge.
* In the last 700,000 years the have been 17 occasions during which the sea-level could have receeded sufficiently for completing the connection between India and SriLanka.

Ramar sethu effect
* Since this structure forms almost a bridge between India and SriLanka and water in this area is shallow, ships cannot naviagate thru the strait.
* Shipes proceeding from west-coast of India to east-coast or vice-versa have to go around SriLanka.

The canal
* A proposal to dredge the strait to make it navigable was made by a British officer named A D Taylor in 1860.
* For reasons unknown,the proposal was not taken-up then.
* Ever since independence various committees deliberated and worked out different routes for the canal.
* The proposal was revived in 2001 by NDA,the ruling alliance then.
* The project was officially inaugrated by the UPA prime-minister Manmohan Singh in 2005.
* Now the project has run in-to rough waters.

What do Very Honest People and Really Secular Senators say?
* The bridge was built by Ram. Hence it is a holy-symbol for Hindus.
* Demolishing the bridge amounts to demolishing a Hindu monument.
* The project need not be stopped,but SCL(SethuSamudram Corporation Ltd) should choose an alternate route.

What do environmentalists say?
* Dredging sea bed will have a catestrophic impact on the marine eco-system in the area.
* Coral-reefs which are protected by international laws will be destroyed.
* Fishing and fisher-men in adjacent areas will be affected.
* The project should be stoped.

What does the DMK & other TN parites(except AIADMK) say?
* The canal will save almost a day of sea-travel.
* More ships will anchor @ Tuticorin and Chennai.
* The canal is an economic boon to Tuticorin and Chennai.
* Choose any route but complete the project.

What does the Supreme court say?
* There is no evidence to prove that the bridge was man-made.
* The project shall continue.

What does SCL(Sedhusamudram Corporation Ltd) say?
* The current route was chosen considering the following factors:
- Cost - mininum cost
- Ease of navigation - route with least curves/turns
- Silt formation - silt formation should not close the canal
- natural disaster - canal should be less prone to earth quakes
* Inspite of the above reasons,an alternate route that doesnot affect the bridge will be chosen.
NB:
SCL is the govt funded company floated to carry-out the project.


My say
Let's make an anolgy.
There is dirt track that leads to your neighbourhood.
Thousand people inhabit the area.
There is a temple/church/mosque on the way.
Since there is no road,you will have to walk to your house everyday,which takes 1 hour.
No vehicle(water tanker,gas,ambulance,etc) comes to your location.
There is a porposal to lay road on the dirt-track.
If the road is to be laid,some portion of temple will be affected.
Now,what would you choose?
Temple or road?
What is the temple for?
To ensure happy-living and good-luck for the inhabitants of your street.
Would you make 1000 people suffer to make 1 temple survive,which ironically was meant for the well-being for the people?
Ofcourse,there will be environmental impact.
Trees will be cut.
Worms and insects will be crushed.

But this has to be done for the well-being of the people.
It's ironic that a bridge built by Ram to connect India and SriLanka centuries ago is dividing the people of India in the 21st century.