Alignment, not Ram, delayed Sethu project

Alignment, not Ram, delayed Sethu project

Swati Das TNN

Chennai: Cutting a canal across the sand dunes and limestone rocks from Rameswaram to Talaimannar in Sri Lanka has been a dream for about 150 years. The aim was to reduce the distance and time, connecting the east coast to the west without having to go around the island country of Sri Lanka. But the sentiments over ‘cutting Ram Sethu’ had never been a consideration until now. The top priorities were safety of the canal and the ships, ecology, engineering and people’s convenience. The prime objective was to connect the Palk Bay in the north of Rameswaram to Gulf of Mannar (GoM) in the south. In 1922, the harbour engineer to the government of Madras, Sir Robert Bristow, while suggesting his alignment had stated: “It reduces the distance from off Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) to Madras (Chennai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and Rangoon by 333, 240 and 109 miles, respectively, and from Trincomalee to Cape Comorin by 125 miles.” As many as 15 alignments were suggested in the past 147 years. Initially, the onslaught of the two monsoons — southwest and northeast — formed the grounds for finding the right alignment, and viability of the alignment was the key reason for shelving of proposals. But after the consulting engineer, Sir John Code of the South India Ship Canal Port, came up with the first satisfactory alignment, the huge costs involved became the major block. Post-Independence, preservation of the marine reserve was the main concern. Today, lost in the argument over the existence of Rama, the warring parties are overlooking the practicality of geological, ecological, economical and human concerns. The current alignment is just 3 km inside the Indo-Sri Lanka Medial Line and 20 km away from Shingle Island — the closest point of the National Marine Park from the proposed canal. It cuts through two shallows — Adam’s Bridge (3m depth) that separates Palk Bay and GoM, and Palk Strait (6-8m). It uses the natural depth in GoM south of Adam’s Bridge and other areas of Palk Bay. Those opposing the “damage” to Adam’s bridge or “Ram Sethu” want an alignment that will cut through Dhanushkodi and exit close to Shingle Island. There were nine proposals between 1860 and 1922 and six proposals between 1956 and now, listed by the Sethusamudram Corporation Limited.