The Madras High Court today said that the mythological Ram Sethu across Palk Bay is man made.
Chennai, June 19 : The Madras High Court today said that the mythological Ram Sethu across Palk Bay is man made.
The Sethu is coming in the way of the Central Government's Sethusamundram Ship Canal Project (SSCP), which proposes linking of the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka.
The plan envisages dredging a 44.9 nautical mile (83 km) long deepwater channel in the shallow sea to provide a continuous navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula.
On May 16, the Lok Sabha was adjourned after Bharatiya Janata Party MPs raised a furore over the construction of the project.
The BJP and the Vishva Hindu Parishad are demanding that the project be scrapped, as it would destroy the mythological bridge built by Lord Rama of Ayodhya.
The project was conceived as early as 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor. It recently received the approval of the Centre.
Incidentally, environmentalists have also opposed the project, saying navigation in the shallow waters will irreversibly damage the region's flora and fauna.
ANI