SETHUSAMUDRAM SHIPPING CANAL PROJECT

   It is a proposed project that would link Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between Tamilnadu, India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the shallow sea called Sethusamudram and through a chain of islands collectively called Adam's Bridge, Ramar Palam, Ram Sethu and similar names. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route in and around thea Indian Peninsula.

         The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical miles (51.7 mi; 83.2 km) long deepwater channel linking the shallow Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived as early as 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, it recently received approval of the Indian government, which plans to break the limestone shoals of Rama's Bridge as part of this project.

         A few organisations are opposing damage to Adam's Bridge on religious, environmental and economical grounds. Many support the implementation of this project using one of five alternative alignments considered earlier without damaging the structure, which is sacred to Hindus. The alignment is currently planned to be roughly in the middle of the straits to provide the shortest course and the course requiring least maintenance.

History

        Because of its shallow waters, Sethusamudram—the sea separating Sri Lanka from India—presents a hindrance to navigation through the Palk Strait. Though trade across the India-Sri Lanka divide has been active since at least the first millennium BCE, it has been limited to small boats and dinghies. Larger ocean going vessels from the West have had to navigate around Sri Lanka to reach India' eastern coast. Eminent British geographer Major James Rennell surveyed the region in late 18th century; he suggested that a "navigable passage could be maintained by dredging the of Ramisseram . Little notice was given to his proposal, perhaps because it came from "so young and an unknown officer", and the idea was only revived 60 years later. Efforts were made in 1838 to dredge the canal, but the passage did not remain navigable for any vessels except those with a shallow draft.

         The project was possibly conceived in 1860 by Commander A. D. Taylor of the Indian Marines, and has been reviewed many times without a decision being made. It has been part of the election manifestos of all political parties during elections. The Government of India appointed the Sethu Samudram Project Committee in 1955—headed by Dr. A. Ramasamy Mudaliar—which was charged with examining the desirability of the project. After evaluating the costs and benefits, this committee found the project feasible and viable. However it strongly recommended an overland passage instead of a channel cutting through Rama's Bridge. A land passage would have several advantages, such as avoiding shifting sandbanks and navigational hazards. Several reviews of the proposals followed until the United Progressive Alliance Government of India headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the inauguration of the project on 2 July 2005.

            In 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Rajendra K. Pachauri as the head . In 2013, the committee released its report calling the project "unviable both from the economic as well as ecological angles". The Indian government rejected the committee's report and decided to go ahead with the project in its current form.

Environmental impact

          The project would disturb the ecological balance and destroy corals. The area is an important fishing ground for Tamil Nadu and the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park is in the vicinity of the proposed project. Opposition to the canal's planned route has come from local fishermen who are demanding alternative channels, which are available. They say the planned route would destroy marine life and corals and would impact the trade in conch shells that is worth almost 1.5 billion  a year. Deposits of thorium—would be affected, which are too important for our nuclear fuel requirements. Opponents also say that the dumping of dredged material from the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar in deeper waters would "endanger those areas, which are rich reserves containing 400 endangered species, including whales, sea turtles, dugongs and dolphins".

            Tsunami expert Professor Tad Murty—who advised the Government of India on the tsunami warning system—has said that the planned route may result in increased impact from tsunami waves. He wrote, "During the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004, the southern part of Kerala was generally spared from a major tsunami, mainly because the tsunami waves from Sumatra region travelling south of the Sri Lankan island, partially diffracted northward and affected the central part of the Kerala coast. Since the tsunami is a long gravity wave (similar to tides and storm surges) during the diffraction process, the rather wide turn it has to take spared the south Kerala coast. On the other hand, deepening the Sethu Canal might provide a more direct route for the tsunami and this could impact south Kerala." 

        On 21 April 2010, the Supreme Court of India decided to delay the project to until an Environmental impact analysis on the feasibility of a route through Dhanuskodi instead of Rama's Bridge had been carried out.

Religion

          Opposition to the project also came from Hindus, who see the Rama Sethu or Rama’s Bridge as the remains of a bridge created by Lord Rama.

        With the NDA government choosing not to demolish the Ram Sethu, the mythical bridge believed to have been built by Lord Rama across the sea to go to Sri Lanka, the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel project (SSCP) could take an alternative route through the Pamban Sea.

         An official, who accompanied Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari during his aerial inspection of the SSCP area, said the Pamban route could be easy and cheap"We have thoroughly studied this new route via Pamban Bridge and it is viable. Earlier, nine proposals were made between 1860 and 1922. With the technical advancement, the Pamban route will be easy and cheap," the official told PTI.The SSCP project envisages dredging a ship channel across Palk Straits, providing a shorter navigational route for ships from east and west coasts of the country instead of circumventing Sri Lanka, has hit a block after protests over the proposed demolition of Ram Sethu.