Sethusamudram or Shri Ram Sethu?

In India, religious issues spread like fire in a jungle. Few days back when UPA government announced to dismantle the Ram setu Bridge between palk bay & gulf of mannar (between India & Sri lanka), there was huge protest started across the country. As usual, Ram setu issue got ignited by one of our national party in India. Today in every part of India, this issue become fire.

Lets look at the statement of UPA government when “RAM SETU” bubble spurt and become a world wide protest.

According to Mr Kapil Sibbal (congress patry leader)stated: “There is no clue that ram setu bridge between India & Srilanka is man made or made by Lord Rama”.

Recently the statement by DMK leader and Tamil Nadu CM, Mr M. Karunanidhi that there is no hindutva & no lord Rama, Its imposed by Aryans on dravidans, then on Thursday another statement of respected Tamil Nadu CM was- Lord Ram a ‘drunkard’ and a ‘big lie’.

These statements of Tamil Nadu CM worked like “GHEE IN FIRE”.

This issue of ram setu came into picture few days back with central government statement of dismantle of bridge but it was started on 9^th March, by various hindu groups to protect the heritage of HINDUTVA & to stop the construction of central government’s huge project of Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) between palk bay & gulf of manaar.

Benefit of SSCP (Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project):

• Reduction of distance around 650 km (around 350 nautical miles)

• Marinetime Security

• Reduction in time by 12 hours

• Reduction in expenditure of about 21 crores on fuel.

• Economic & industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu

• Extension of ports and 13 new ports in tamil nadu coastal regions.

Now It’s a time to look at the issue with various angles…

Religious issue: According to Hindu's epic Ramayana, Lord Rama with his vanar sena (army of monkeys) formed this bridge to cross the sea and fight against Lanka’s king RAVANA. According to recent NASA pictures its proved that there was one bridge between palk bay & gulf of mannar. If we match the epic’s words with this bridge it showed that there was lord Rama who made this bridge.This bridge is heritage to hindus and become world heritage after NASA pictures.

Controversial points:

• Rama’s bridge is only 3,500 years old: CRS

• Rama Setu is NOT a natural formation: Dr. Badrinarayanan, former director of Geological Survey of India and a member of the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) says the Adam's Bridge was not a natural formation

• Rama Setu IS a natural formation: American space agency NASA has said that the structure of sand bars and rocks situated in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, known as Ram Sethu or Adam's Bridge in maps, is a natural phenomenon and not a man-made structure.

Possible Outcomes: These burning statements of political leaders can cause huge religious turbulence.

Implications: All epics are just stories because there is no fact & proof is available.

Political issue: In UPA government there was big conflict between the parties (i.e. congress & left front)on 123 agreement and this issue raised a huge protest against DMK party (coalition partner in UPA).

Mrs.Ambika Soni, the disgraceful Union Minister for Culture, soaked and steeped in her self-chosen, imperious, insolent, comfortable, cozy, and self-confident ignorance, may not be aware of the fact that there are exquisite sculptures of Rama Setu carved in the 9th and 10th centuries AD at Prambanan Temple, Java, Indonesia. Also known as Loro Jongrang Temple (Temple of the Slender Maiden), Prambanan Temple was built in the 9th century and is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia.

This temple in Indonesia was largest temple of country & UNESCO (a non-saffronized International Organization!!) has declared this temple complex as a World Heritage Site.

Source: ivarta.com

Possible Outcomes:

• Huge affect on the vote bank of congress in different states.

• Economic benefit of northern Srilnaka region currently occupied by LTTE, so it may hamper the relation of India & Srilanka.

• Anti Hindutva image

Implications: Politicians or minister are not well aware of facts which implies that they are for personal interest inspite of public interest .

Environmental issue: Ramasethu, played a key role in protecting the coastline in South India against the unforeseen ravages i.e Tsunami (2004). This setu acted as a natural shoal barrier preventing the inflow of waters.

Adverse effects:

• The SSCP will adversely affect the south Indian coastline i.e Dhanushkodi ,coastline of Kerala &Konkan region.

• Cause changes in temperature, salinity, turbidity and flow of nutrients

• Cause oilspills from ship and other marine pollution to reach the coastal areas and specifically the sensitive ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar.

• Lead to higher tides and to more energetic waves, and hence to coastal erosion.
  

• Affect the local sea atmosphere and thereby alter the pattern of sea-breezes and hence affect rainfall patterns.

· This project will badly affect the ecology of region, gulf of mannar has 3,600 species of plants and animals and is India's biologically richest coastal region.

There are so many doubts about the authenticity of SSC project because there were number of environmental & technical issues are still unsolved which opposed this mega project of government.

Technical issue:

• As per NEERI(National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur) report, government recommended the project but now researchers proved that when NEERI submitted its report to government of India Tsunami 2004 event was not taken into consideration

• Effect of a tsunami-type of event on the SSCP. All the scientists are unanimous in their view that a recurrence of tsunamis cannot be ruled out.

• Locations for dumping the dredged sand

• Costs of continuous dredging given the continuous sea currents which tend to create the shoals through the never-ending natural accretion process, again and again rebuilding the Ramar bridge, and thus making the SSCP, apart from being financially unviable, inoperable for most of the time.

• There has been no market study of the numbers and types of vessels which will navigate through the channel and the freight rates expected to be paid by these vessels for being tugged through the proposed Canal.

Lack of competent project leaders: According to Prof Rajamanickam (India's eminent coastal geo-morphologists and mineralogists.): India have lack of Earth System scientists- geo-morphologists, sedimentologists, mineralogists, oceanographers, climatologists .The present monitoring team, which comprises scientists from Marine Biology, Fisheries etc., will be able to do only 10% of the total required monitoring work.

Questions to Government:

• Why was the Metro route passing ’close’ to Qutub Minar in New Delhi, modified and later reworked fearing prospective damages to this 815- year old man-made monument?

• Why was the Taj project corridor (which would have generated lots of money for our money-minded government) put off after environmentalists raised a hue and cry fearing any construction near the Taj ’may’ damage the 359-year old man-made monument? Please note that the environmentalists only ‘feared’ that the monument might be damaged; they did not state it would be damaged!

• Will any government in China destroy or even alter the Great Wall of Chi-na (2,695 years old) for the sake of money?

• Will any one allow pulling down the 4,507 year-old Pyramids of Egypt in lieu of any amount of money?

If the answer is NO, then why this 17,25,000-year-old, man-made monument is being destroyed for the sake of some coins?

References:

IBNLIVE.COM

Ramasetu