Expert team analyses possibility of alternative site to SSCP

Ramanathapuram (TN) Sep 2 (PTI) An expert team, led by R
K Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, has visited coastal Dhanushkodi and neighbouring areas
to analyse the possibility of finding an alternative site for
the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.
Officials said the team, after visiting the area
yesterday, also interacted with Coast Guard officials at
Mandapam.
The panel was formed following direction from the Supreme
Court to find a solution to the problem after some Hindu
organisations protested against dredging at Ram Sethu,
believed to have been built by Lord Ram.
The officials said one proposal suggested was digging
part of the land near Dhanushkodi to connect Palk Straits and
Gulf of Mannar.
SSCP proposes linking Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar between
India and Sri Lanka by creating a shipping channel through the
shallow sea and a chain of islands known as Ram Sethu or
Adam's Bridge.
The project was flagged off in 2005 but later found
opposition following a decision to dredge Ram Sethu, believed
to have been constructed by Lord Ram to cross to Sri Lanka.
On April 21 last year, the Supreme Court had put a virtual
stop to SSCP, saying it would await a "full and comprehensive"
Environmental Impact Analysis on feasibility of an alternative
route through Dhanuskodi instead of Ram Sethu.