NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 9, 2007: The narrow sea between India and Sri Lanka has great significance to Hindu heritage as the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, climaxed in this area. When Sita, Lord Ram’s wife, was abducted by King Ravan and taken to Lanka, an army of monkeys built a bridge across the channel from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka to assist Lord Ram in rescuing Sita. The news release explains the situation, “The Ram Setu or Adam’s Bridge, a chain of limestone shoals 48 km long that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu with Mannar in Sri Lanka’s northwest, faces possible destruction when the ambitious Sethusamudram canal project comes up to create a navigable waterway in the narrow sea dividing the two countries. India does not have a continuous navigational channel linking the east and west coasts. Ships coming from India’s west and heading to Bangladesh or Indian ports on the east coast have to go around Sri Lanka because the waterway in the sea dividing the two countries is shallow. When the sea is dredged and a shipping canal does come up, it will save up to 780 km of sailing distance and 30 hours of sailing time for ships plying between the east and west coasts of India. Indian officials say the canal will also boost the national economy besides speeding up the movement of Indian Navy and Coast Guard vessels as well.”
However Hindu groups are protesting the proposal to destroy Ram Setu. B.P. Singhal, a former director general of police and a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), says, “That bridge tells the story of the entire war, how Ram and his army went on to destroy the evil by crossing a seemingly insurmountable barrier. Therefore, the heritage is extremely sacred to Hindus. It is a heritage that cannot and should not be destroyed.” Also the article points out that their have been other protests that the project will cause irrevocable damage to biodiversity and harm endangered species such as marine turtles. There is also a possibility, it is said, that the canal would change the impact of tsunamis in the area, which are presently blocked by the bridge. See a video presentation, here.