The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping canal through the shallow sea sometimes called Setu Samudram, and through the island chain of Rama's Bridge, also known as Adam's Bridge. This would provide a continuous navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical mile (83 km) long deepwater channel linking the shallow water of the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived as early as 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, it recently received approval of the Indian government.
History
Possibly conceived in 1860 by Commander A. D. Taylor of the Indian Marines, the project has been reviewed many times over the years but no decision was ever made. It was part of the election manifestos of all political parties during elections. The Union Government of India appointed the Sethu Samudram Project Committee in 1955, headed by Dr. A. Ramasamy Mudaliar, which was charged with the duty of examining the desirability of the project. After evaluating the costs and benefits, this committee found the project feasible and viable. Several reviews of the proposals followed. Finally, the United Progressive Alliance Government of India headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the inauguration of the project on June 2, 2005.
Benefits
The strategic advantages to India derive from obtaining a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships). The project is expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu. The project will be of particular significance to Tuticorin harbour, which has the potential to transform itself into a nodal port. The State Government has announced its proposal to develop 13 minor ports, including Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thondi, Valinokam, Kolachel and Kanyakumari.
Development of the canal and ports is also expected to provide increased maritime security for Tamil Nadu.
Issues to be resolved
Economic
Many naval hydrographers and experts suggest that the project is unlikely to be financially viable or serve ships in any significant way. The savings for ships that originate from Kanyakumari or Tuticorin is between 10 and 30 hours. For ships from other destinations like the Middle East, Africa, Mauritius and Europe,the average savings by using this canal is just 8 hours.
At the present tariff rates, ships from Africa and Europe will lose $ 4,992 on every voyage, as the savings in time for these ships are considerably lower that what is calculated in the DPR. This loss is significant as 65% of the projected users of the canal are those from Africa and Europe. If tariffs are lowered to a point where ships from Africa and Europe will not lose any money from using the canal, the IRR of the project falls to 2.6%! This is a level at which even public infrastructure projects are rejected by the government.
Environmental
Marine life:
Though there has been a demand from various quarters for the implementation of the project, there is also opposition to it from environmentalists. They point out that the dredging of the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar could affect the ecology of the zone by changing currents, which could:
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 temperature and thereby alter the pattern of sea-breezes and hence affect rainfall patterns.
They also point out that dredging the canal could stir up the dust and toxins that lie beneath the sea bed, affecting marine life. The emptying of bilge water from ships travelling through the hitherto impassable areas could diperse invasive species through the ecosystems of the area.
These effects could endanger precious marine species and wealth. The Gulf of Mannar has 3,600 species of plants and animals and is India's biologically richest coastal region. Mammal species which abound in the area are sperm whales, dolphins and dugongs. The Gulf of Mannar is especially known for its corals: the portion in Indian territorial waters has 117 species of corals, belonging to 37 genera. Associated with these ecosystems are many varieties of fish and crustaceans. Marine life on the Sri Lankan side, which is better protected, is even richer. The Bar Reef off the Kalpitiya peninsular alone has 156 species of coral and 283 of fish; there are two other coral reef systems around Mannar and Jaffna. There are extensive banks of oysters, as well as Indian Chank and Sea Cucumbers, especially in the seas adjacent to Mannar. The pearl fisheries south of Mannar, which inspired Georges Bizet's opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles, have not been productive for many years, indicating the fragility of these ecosystems in the face of overfishing and of relatively minor changes in the habitat.
However official environmental clearance has been given for the project. The contention that the Sethusamudram Canal will cut through coral reefs and disturb the ecology has been dismissed as a mistaken fear.
The Indian government has conducted various environmental studies which has concluded that such issues are overblown and not based on science. Nevertheless, the fundamental environmentalist objections remain, that
the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the Indian government was done by a body inexperienced in projects of this nature, was insufficiently detailed and did not consult with all the stakeholders, which included the government and people on the southern side of the proposed project,
no proper survey has been carried out of the sea bed to be dredged, and
no proper scientific modelling of the effects of the project has been carried out.
After environmental objections were made in Sri Lanka, the Indian government belatedly decided to carry out modelling, but this had not been done before clearance was given for the project. A modelling exercise carried out by Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) indicated that the project would increase the water flow from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar, disturbing the inland water balance as well as the eco-systems in the Gulf. There have also been judicial observations against this project.
Fishing
On July 2, 2005, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project amidst protests from fishermen and environmentalists. Nearly 600 were arrested.
Political and economic
There have been concerns that the dredging would increase the water flow, thus eroding and even submerging the western Jaffna coastline. However as the project is nearly 50 km from the coastline of Sri Lanka few geologists believe it will have any serious harm. Moreover some have chipped in saying that the economic benefits will be mutual for Sri Lanka as much as it is for India by reviving minor ports in Sri Lanka.
The underdeveloped region of Northern Srilanka is currently occupied by LTTE. Sethusamudram project could potentially allow economic benefits to this region. This is being viewed with mutual suspsicon of both Sri Lankan and Tamil leaders. Further it is expected that in addition to Colombo, new ports to be developed near Jaffna.
There has also been criticism expressed, on the basis that the project could damage relations with Sri Lanka.
Religious
Some claim that this land bridge is the site of the famous Rama's Bridge, making it a historical, religious and cultural monument of great significance. For this reason, many, including chief ministers of states[3], oppose the project.
Several claims and estimates have been made regarding the age of Rama's bridge and its relation to the Indian epic Ramayana.
Rama’s bridge is only 3,500 years old: CRS {Source: Indian Express}: "Ramasamy explains that the land/beaches were formed between Ramanathapuram and Pamban because of the long shore drifting currents which moved in an anti-clockwise direction in the north and clockwise direction in the south of Rameswaram and Talaimannar about 3,500 years ago. ... But as the carbon dating of the beaches roughly matches the dates of Ramayana, its link to the epic needs to be explored, he adds."
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."Such a natural formation is impossible. Unless somebody has transported them and dumped them there, those reefs could not have come there. Some boulders were so light that they could float on water."
The Geological Survey of India conducted a detailed survey of the area and concluded that the structure was a natural one. A premier institute had made 91 boreholes in and around the site to ascertain the truth and the soil samples kept at the Sethu Project Office could be verified."
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. This was announced on Saturday by N K Raghupathy, CEO, Sethusamudram Corp Ltd, at a press conference when he revealed the contents of an email received in this regard from NASA's Johnson Space Centre. A few days back, the company sent an email to NASA to know whether Ram Sethu was a made-made structure. "
Setbacks
The spud of the "Cutter-Sucker-Dredger Aquarius" broke while cutting the bridge, dealing a blow to the dredging work. [8] In yet another set back to the dredging work of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project, a giant crane sent to retrieve the broken spud also broke and a part of it sunk in the sea. Officials were now thinking of bringing a bigger crane - Hanuman - having 200 tonne capacity from Vishakapatnam to retrieve both the sunken crane and the spud.
On July 25, 2007, Uma Bharti began a week-days fast protesting over the project saying that the mythological bridge be saved.
History
Possibly conceived in 1860 by Commander A. D. Taylor of the Indian Marines, the project has been reviewed many times over the years but no decision was ever made. It was part of the election manifestos of all political parties during elections. The Union Government of India appointed the Sethu Samudram Project Committee in 1955, headed by Dr. A. Ramasamy Mudaliar, which was charged with the duty of examining the desirability of the project. After evaluating the costs and benefits, this committee found the project feasible and viable. Several reviews of the proposals followed. Finally, the United Progressive Alliance Government of India headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the inauguration of the project on June 2, 2005.
Benefits
The strategic advantages to India derive from obtaining a navigable sea route close to the coast, with a reduction in travel distance of more than 350 nautical miles (650 km) (for larger ships). The project is expected to provide a boost to the economic and industrial development of coastal Tamil Nadu. The project will be of particular significance to Tuticorin harbour, which has the potential to transform itself into a nodal port. The State Government has announced its proposal to develop 13 minor ports, including Ennore, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thondi, Valinokam, Kolachel and Kanyakumari.
Development of the canal and ports is also expected to provide increased maritime security for Tamil Nadu.
Issues to be resolved
Economic
Many naval hydrographers and experts suggest that the project is unlikely to be financially viable or serve ships in any significant way. The savings for ships that originate from Kanyakumari or Tuticorin is between 10 and 30 hours. For ships from other destinations like the Middle East, Africa, Mauritius and Europe,the average savings by using this canal is just 8 hours.
At the present tariff rates, ships from Africa and Europe will lose $ 4,992 on every voyage, as the savings in time for these ships are considerably lower that what is calculated in the DPR. This loss is significant as 65% of the projected users of the canal are those from Africa and Europe. If tariffs are lowered to a point where ships from Africa and Europe will not lose any money from using the canal, the IRR of the project falls to 2.6%! This is a level at which even public infrastructure projects are rejected by the government.
Environmental
Marine life:
Though there has been a demand from various quarters for the implementation of the project, there is also opposition to it from environmentalists. They point out that the dredging of the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar could affect the ecology of the zone by changing currents, which could:
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 temperature and thereby alter the pattern of sea-breezes and hence affect rainfall patterns.
They also point out that dredging the canal could stir up the dust and toxins that lie beneath the sea bed, affecting marine life. The emptying of bilge water from ships travelling through the hitherto impassable areas could diperse invasive species through the ecosystems of the area.
These effects could endanger precious marine species and wealth. The Gulf of Mannar has 3,600 species of plants and animals and is India's biologically richest coastal region. Mammal species which abound in the area are sperm whales, dolphins and dugongs. The Gulf of Mannar is especially known for its corals: the portion in Indian territorial waters has 117 species of corals, belonging to 37 genera. Associated with these ecosystems are many varieties of fish and crustaceans. Marine life on the Sri Lankan side, which is better protected, is even richer. The Bar Reef off the Kalpitiya peninsular alone has 156 species of coral and 283 of fish; there are two other coral reef systems around Mannar and Jaffna. There are extensive banks of oysters, as well as Indian Chank and Sea Cucumbers, especially in the seas adjacent to Mannar. The pearl fisheries south of Mannar, which inspired Georges Bizet's opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles, have not been productive for many years, indicating the fragility of these ecosystems in the face of overfishing and of relatively minor changes in the habitat.
However official environmental clearance has been given for the project. The contention that the Sethusamudram Canal will cut through coral reefs and disturb the ecology has been dismissed as a mistaken fear.
The Indian government has conducted various environmental studies which has concluded that such issues are overblown and not based on science. Nevertheless, the fundamental environmentalist objections remain, that
the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the Indian government was done by a body inexperienced in projects of this nature, was insufficiently detailed and did not consult with all the stakeholders, which included the government and people on the southern side of the proposed project,
no proper survey has been carried out of the sea bed to be dredged, and
no proper scientific modelling of the effects of the project has been carried out.
After environmental objections were made in Sri Lanka, the Indian government belatedly decided to carry out modelling, but this had not been done before clearance was given for the project. A modelling exercise carried out by Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) indicated that the project would increase the water flow from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar, disturbing the inland water balance as well as the eco-systems in the Gulf. There have also been judicial observations against this project.
Fishing
On July 2, 2005, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project amidst protests from fishermen and environmentalists. Nearly 600 were arrested.
Political and economic
There have been concerns that the dredging would increase the water flow, thus eroding and even submerging the western Jaffna coastline. However as the project is nearly 50 km from the coastline of Sri Lanka few geologists believe it will have any serious harm. Moreover some have chipped in saying that the economic benefits will be mutual for Sri Lanka as much as it is for India by reviving minor ports in Sri Lanka.
The underdeveloped region of Northern Srilanka is currently occupied by LTTE. Sethusamudram project could potentially allow economic benefits to this region. This is being viewed with mutual suspsicon of both Sri Lankan and Tamil leaders. Further it is expected that in addition to Colombo, new ports to be developed near Jaffna.
There has also been criticism expressed, on the basis that the project could damage relations with Sri Lanka.
Religious
Some claim that this land bridge is the site of the famous Rama's Bridge, making it a historical, religious and cultural monument of great significance. For this reason, many, including chief ministers of states[3], oppose the project.
Several claims and estimates have been made regarding the age of Rama's bridge and its relation to the Indian epic Ramayana.
Rama’s bridge is only 3,500 years old: CRS {Source: Indian Express}: "Ramasamy explains that the land/beaches were formed between Ramanathapuram and Pamban because of the long shore drifting currents which moved in an anti-clockwise direction in the north and clockwise direction in the south of Rameswaram and Talaimannar about 3,500 years ago. ... But as the carbon dating of the beaches roughly matches the dates of Ramayana, its link to the epic needs to be explored, he adds."
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."Such a natural formation is impossible. Unless somebody has transported them and dumped them there, those reefs could not have come there. Some boulders were so light that they could float on water."
The Geological Survey of India conducted a detailed survey of the area and concluded that the structure was a natural one. A premier institute had made 91 boreholes in and around the site to ascertain the truth and the soil samples kept at the Sethu Project Office could be verified."
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. This was announced on Saturday by N K Raghupathy, CEO, Sethusamudram Corp Ltd, at a press conference when he revealed the contents of an email received in this regard from NASA's Johnson Space Centre. A few days back, the company sent an email to NASA to know whether Ram Sethu was a made-made structure. "
Setbacks
The spud of the "Cutter-Sucker-Dredger Aquarius" broke while cutting the bridge, dealing a blow to the dredging work. [8] In yet another set back to the dredging work of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project, a giant crane sent to retrieve the broken spud also broke and a part of it sunk in the sea. Officials were now thinking of bringing a bigger crane - Hanuman - having 200 tonne capacity from Vishakapatnam to retrieve both the sunken crane and the spud.
On July 25, 2007, Uma Bharti began a week-days fast protesting over the project saying that the mythological bridge be saved.
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The Specter of Neo Tectonics (Earthquake) in the Sethusamudram Project Area - Results of a latest Research Study by the Marine Wing of the Archeological Survey of India
The recent study on the subsidence of southern portion of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township in to the Sea during February 1948 and January 1949 - Its implications for the future of SSCP
At the present time of making crucial decisions on the SSC Project legally an issue of prime importance to the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project, hitherto unnoticed and un discussed, but has come to the notice of the researchers only as late as March 2006 and communicated to the Scientific Community through “Current Science” Journal in its 10 March 2007 issue. This is the issue of Neo-Tectonics in the “Adam’s Bridge” of the Project Area needs to be presented and discussed.
Before going into the actual details, it would be of some importance to state here that the Petitioner has actually highlighted this issue when he had discussed how this issue of ‘Neo Tectonics’ was recently found to be one of the reasons for the yet to be solved issue of increased sedimentation in the Haldia Port and also one of the possible reasons for increased Shoal formation in the Palk Strait Area.
Researchers from the Marine Wing of the Geological Survey of India namely “G. G. Vaz, M. Hariprasad, B. R. Rao and V. Subba Rao” have published a research paper titled “Subsidence of Southern Part of erstwhild Dhanushkodi township, Tamil Nadu – evidences from bathymetry, side scan and under water videography” in “Current Science” Journal dated 10 March 2007.
The abstract of the paper gives the following introduction to the issue at question:
“The southern part of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township, Tamil Nadu, experienced subsidence and submergence during AD 1948-49. Shallow bathymetric and side scan surveys together with sampling and underwater videography confirm the extent and quantum of subsidence. The studies reveal that a vertical tectonic movement (fault) parallel to the coastline with a displacement of ~ 5 m led to the subsidence of the sothern part of the township. This fault movement has occurred 57 years ago and hence could be the latest neo-tectonic movement ever recorded along east coast of India.”
The paper makes some important observations:
“ ..The studies reveal that the southern side of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township underwent severe erosion and subsidence between February 1958 and January 1949. Consequently, the southern part of the township comprising places of worship, residential areas, roads, etc., over a width of ~500 m along the N-S direction and a stretch of 7 km along WNW-ESE direction was destroyed by wave attack and submerged to a depth of 5 m. Following this destructive event, then the District Administration has dumped granite blocks and made a series of wooden piles down to ~10 m all along the coastline, in order to arrest further wave attack and eventual loss of land. The granite blocks and wooden piles were subsequently covered by littoral sand.”
“After collection of all scientific data, local Tamil Nadu Land Records were consulted for old survey records pertaining to this area, to gather additional information about past habitation. Comparison of the maps of Dhanushkodi village prepared by State Revenue authorities prior to (AD 1948-49) and after the (AD 1950) subsidence has facilitated demarcation of the actual area of subsidence by survey numbers, names of the important buildings, etc. Land records prepared after 1950 provide yet another proof of subsidence of the southern part of erstwhile Dhanushkodi township.”
“The observation mentioned above substantially prove the subsidence and submergence of erstwhile Dhanushkod township. Reportedly, when sea retracted to about 500 m from the present coastline to the arrival of recent tsunami wave in December 2004, the subsided and submerged part of the township got exposed for a while. This rare sight has been witnessed by the local fishermen community. The local inhabitants believed that coastal erosion was the main causative factor for the destruction and subsidence of the township in mid-tentieth century. The present marine geo-scientific observations, however, confirm a vertical movement parallel to the coastline with a displacement of ~5 m in the offshore segment, which actually led to the subsidence of the southern part of the township.”
“Such neo-tectonic movements at various places along east coast of India have been reported. Normally, neo-tectonic movements in the coastal zone may be discerned by the study of paleo-strandlines. However, the area of study does not show any indication of such strandline positions, except a wide Aeolian belt along the coast. Under this scenario, other critical sets of data pertaining to near shore bathymetry, side scan, sampling and under water videography have provided valuable clues in support of the subsidence phenomenon through neo-tectonic activity. Usually it is not an easy task to confirm the evidence of Holocene faulting within the unconsolidated sediments. The present evidence of faulting off erstwhile Dhanushkodi township is documented with geo-scientific clues from offshore field evidences, and hence stands out as a unique study. The fault of ~5 m discerned in the study area may be only a surficial manifestation of a deep-seated and major faulting at depth, whose actual and destructive effect has not reached the surface. The faulting has understandably caused severe loss to the coastal zone, its inhabitants and their properties.”
“This event of subsidence along with field evidence of faulting does not warrant any dating method to prove the age of this faulting, because according to eyewitnesses and land survey records, this geological event occurred during AD 1948-49. Most likely, this Dhanushkodi fault is the latest neo-tectonic movement ever along the east coast of India.”
To know how important the above study would be to the future of SSCP, it would be enough to note how closely the southern leg of the SSCP Channel is located with respect to the erstwhile Dhanushkodi township. In this regard, the petitioner, seeks the leave of Hon’ble Court to present the map showing the locations of Dahnushkodi and the southern leg of SSCP.
Three major points can be summarized from the above research paper:
The fault line is oriented North South – that is parallel and very close to the southern leg of SSCP.
The fault line looks like 5 meters deep; but this may be only a surficial manifestation of a deep-seated and major faulting at depth, whose actual and destructive effect has not reached the surface.
The faulting has understandably caused severe loss to the coastal zone, its inhabitants and their properties.
Sethu Channel is just 12 meters deep and 300 meters broad. When it is looked in the context of the area damaged by wave attack due to the uplift of the fault (namely a width of ~500 m along the N-S direction and a stretch of 7 km along WNW-ESE direction ) in the south Dhanushkodi area, the importance of studying the implications of this ‘supposedly’ deep seated destructive fault on the future of the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel can be understood without any doubt.
It is based on the above facts, it is felt that the Project needs to be halted for an unbiased review at least now.
Date of Publication: 12 September 2007, Wednesday
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