Government considers 4 options to save Ram Sethu

NEW DELHI: Government is considering four options including a new and shorter alignment for the controversial Sethusamudram shipping canal project to avoid any damage to the Ram Sethu. Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari told parliament on Thursday that the government won't do anything that would affect the Sethu, also known as Adam's Bridge.

"The matter is sub-judice so I won't speak on it but four alternatives have been suggested," said Gadkari. Replying to a question in the House on development of waterways in the country, he said the government proposes to find an amicable solution to the issue which would also contribute to the development and progress of the nation.

TOI has learnt that the new alignment would be shorter than the one suggested by the Supreme Court. The alignments were discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by Gadkari on Wednesday, sources said.

The Sethu issue has been in controversy for long time. The BJP had in past accused Congress of playing politics and not having faith in God. The UPA government had originally proposed an alignment that would have led to the dismantling of the Sethu.

But the R K Pachauri committee had suggested a different alignment without dismantling the original Ram Sethu structure, which was not accepted by the UPA government. The Sethu, a continuous stretch of limestone shoals runs from Pamban Island near Rameshwaram in South India to Mannar Island off the northern coast of Sri Lanka. According to Hindu legend, the structure was built by Lord Rama and his army of apes and monkeys to reach Lanka.

The depth of the sea along the 30-km-long stretch varies between 3 feet and 30 feet, thus making navigation by sea-worthy vessels impossible. Ships bound for India's eastern coast from the west have to circle around the entire island of Sri Lanka to reach Tuticorin, Chennai, Vizag, Paradip and other ports.

The earlier proposal involved creating a 83-km-long deepwater channel to link Mannar with Palk Strait by extensive dredging and removal the Ram Sethu.