Supreme Court stays DMK-sponsored Tamil Nadu shutdown

The Supreme Court today put a stay on a shutdown called by the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) led ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu on Monday or any other day on the issue of Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

New Delhi, Sept 30 : The Supreme Court today put a stay on a shutdown called by the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) led ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu on Monday or any other day on the issue of Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

The stay order came during a special sitting of the apex court called for hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by opposition AIADMK, challenging the 12-hour shutdown call by the DMK.

An apex court bench headed by acting Chief Justice B N Aggarwal said the proposed shutdown is unconstitutional, and if observed, it could go against the court's directive on the issue.

The AIADMK in its petition had contended that the shutdown call was unwarranted, as the matter relating to the canal project is already pending before the Supreme Court.

The ruling DMK and its allies had called the shutdown in the state demanding implementation of the Sethusamudram project. Several Congress and Left affiliated unions like the AITUC, INTUC, and the CITU were likely to support the shutdown.

The M Karunanidhi led party had been protesting to impress upon the Centre to get the Supreme Court stay on the project off the Tamil Nadu coast vacated.

The case is currently pending before the apex court.

Early this month, seeking three months time to examine the Sethusamudram project issue, the Central Government withdrew an affidavit relating to the mythological "Ram Setu" from the Supreme Court.

The Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balkrishnan allowed the withdrawal of affidavit, and posted the matter for next hearing in the first week of January 2008.

The apex Bench also said that the August 31 interim order restraining any construction at the "Ram Sethu" or Adam's bridge area would continue.

The affidavit filed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on behalf of the Centre stated that there was no evidence to prove "the existence of the characters or the occurrence of events" in the Ramayana.

The government said that it wanted to resolve the matter in a "constructive and mutually acceptable manner".

Hindu groups have called on the government to stop the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, saying it would demolish the mythical bridge linking India and Sri Lanka, believed to have been built by Lord Ram.

Opposing the 560 million dollars project, they say it would destroy the Ram Sethu, a 48-kilometre chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka.

The Sethusamudram Project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic.

According to the Central Government, research has shown that the Ram Setu was a series of sand shoals created by sedimentation.

Dredging for the project began in 2005 and the channel -- 12 metres deep, 300 metres wide and almost 90 km long -- will provide a crucial link between the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar.

ANI