Canal versus channel
Channel in mid-ocean is an unprecedented, risky enterprise. Suez and Panama canals are land-based canals. To try to create a mid-ocean channel passage in turbulent waters of Palk Straits is an invitation to disaster, putting nation’s security and coastline integrity at risk.
When 5 alternative alignments are available to create a land-based canal, why has a mid-ocean channel channel passage been chosen as the Setusamudram Channel Project? There is an international conspiracy behind this choice.
This choice will internationalise the waters of Gulf of Mannar and create an international boundary between India and Srilanka, where such a boundary never existed. According to the June 1974 Indira Gandhi – Sirimavo Bandaranaike declaration, these waters were declared as ‘Historic Waters’, meaning, waters territorially shared between the two countries and hence, internal to these two countries. US Navy operational directive of June 23, 2005 sought to change this declaration. The directive refused to declare these as ‘historic waters’ and to operationalise their assertion, sent their naval warships into these waters. This is a serious violation of national sovereignty which has gone unnoticed so far.
Why is America interested in these waters and why the desire to create an international waters channel? Clearly, the choice is to suit the convenience of the US Navy which wants to outsource to India, the coast-guarding of the sealane oil tanker traffic from Straits of Hormuz through Srilanka, through Straits of Malacca to the Westcoast of USA. The geopolitical perspective becomes apparent from the location of the US base in Diego Garcia south of Srilanka, of a very low frequency radio station (which uses ocean waves for transmission) at Trincomalee to listen to the submarine chatter and the US naval units in Singapore.
Justice VR Krishna Iyer’s letter to PM: I beseech you to reconsider the stand taken if any already. This is a matter of political party business or popularity or pro-American yen…the grave issue with which the nation shall defend its survival.
Justice KT Thomas: It is our duty to make in-depth study of all possible repercussions before destroy the natural geological formations. That apart, the religious sentiments of the majority community in India that Lord Rama created such sea wall must he honored and respected.
Sir AR Mudaliar Committee Report 1956:
Choose canal, NOT mid-ocean channel passage
Reasons:
- Shifting Sandbanks
- No possibility of construction of protective works… definite navigational hazard
- Channel would border on the Sethusamudram Medial Line.
“In these circumstances we have no doubt, whatever that the junction between the two sea should be effected by a Canal; and the idea of cutting a passage in the sea through Adam’s Bridge should be abandoned.”
There is another geopolitical perspective. That relates to the existence of 32% of the world’s reserves of thorium in just three villages south of Rama Setu (details provided below). If these thorium reserves get desiccated and go into the ocean through a future tsunami funneled through the channel passage, India will have to continue to depend upon purchased uranium from NSG countries. The accumulation of thorium placer deposits is emphatically due to the existence of Rama Setu acting as a cyclotron against the clock-wise and counter-clock-wise ocean currents depositing Th-232 on the coastline lands. Thorium is also found in ilmenite sands. Th-232 + a neutron yields U-233 and India is ready with a reactor to produce electricity directly using a thorium-based breeder reactor. Maybe, this causes jealousy among some of the countries of the nuclear club.
Thorium deposits in Kerala (Aluva, Chavara), Tamilnadu (Manavalakurichi)
Serious breach of strategic national security
Rama Setu is a tsunami protection wall which saved the coastline of Tamilnadu, Kerala and westcoast during the last devastating tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004.
It is impermissible to damage such a protective structure impairing the integrity and security of the nation.
There is an ongoing loot of placer deposits containing strategic minerals along the Rama Setu coast.
A serious breach of strategic national security created by the alleged exports of nuclear resources from southern coast of India near Rama Setu by some private parties, in violation of provisions in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 and Atomic Energy Act 1962. The judicial complaint lodged by Deputy Director, Geology and Mining, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari District, Tamilnadu. Thorium and titanium (strategic atomic and space age metals) are found in these placer sands called ilmenite, rutile, garnet, zircon, monazite. Thorium containing coastal sands south of Rama Setu represent 32% of the known reserves of the world. These placer sands also contain the heaviest concentration of upto 4% of thorium unprecendented in any heavy minerals areas anywhere in the world.
There are also reports of loss of stockpiles from the Indian Rare Earths Limited offices.
Another report has appeared on 6 September 2007 and headlined in major newspapers all over the world that there is an imminent of threat of a tsunami more devastating than the tsunami of 26 Dec. 2004. This report appeared in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature. The report states that about 60 to 70 million people of the east coast of India in the Bay of Bengal will be at risk. In view of the seriousness of this scientific report, I request you to immediately suspend all project works along the coastline which should be resumed only after a detailed, multi-disciplinary investigation of this threat to national security and integrity of the nation.
In view of this situation, the work on Setusamudram Channel Project should be suspended immediately and a multi-disciplinary review ordered on the impact of another tsunami on the proposed channel and the coastline and on the impact on the accumulation, and security of thorium reserves of the nation in this coastal zone.
All private mining leases in this coastal zone containing ilmenite, monazite, rutile, garnet and zircon deposit should be suspended.
The FIR mentioned in the Annex brings out serious concerns related to strategic national security. The entire zone is out of bounds even to the police forces of Tamilnadu state and the Centre. It is imperative that this zone be declared as a Strategic Security Zone and brought under the control of the Defence forces of the nation to safeguard and conserve the thorium reserves so vital for the nation's strategic nuclear program to ensure energy independence.
According to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) website and records, the estimated reserves of thorium in India are 3,60,000 tonnes and represent the energy equivalent of generation of electricity at the rate of 400,000 MW for 387 years and use in thorium-based breeder reactors. Recent report from BARC also indicates that the nation's nuclear scientists are ready with a thorium-based reactor to generate electricity which can be made operational in the next 7 years, according to the statement of Dr. Baldev Raj of Atomic Energy Commission.
Thorium 232 bombarded by a neutron yields U-233 and can be used in the three-stage nuclear programme chalked out by our atomic scientific community.
Rama Setu as an ancient monument, a sacred world heritage
Many monuments have been declared as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO:
Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection in Panama Tubbataha Reef
Marine Park in the Philippines
Kvarken Archipelago / High Coast in Sweden/Finland
Giant's causeway and Causeway coast in UK
Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System in Belize
Mont St. Michel and its bay in France
Ha Long Bay in Vietnam
Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe
US court backs Indian tribe (Navajo) to prevent desiccation of a sacred mountain in USA
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070312-1046-environment-navajos.html
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/
3000 pages of documentation were submitted to the Madras High Court which accepted the arguments that the Rama Setu should be deemed to be an ancient monument and a world heritage under UNESCO world heritage and UNESCO underwater cultural heritage conventions to which India is a signatory.
The logo of Survey of India refers to Setu – aa setu himachalam, meaning: from Setu to Himalayas as Bharatam. This is thus a national metaphor, defining the national boundaries as Himalayas and hindumahasaagaram.
There are cartographic evidences such as the one provided in Schwarzberg of Univ. of Chicago’s South Asia Atlas.
Madras Presidency Administration Report, 1903 and a Travelogue, 1744 refer to the bridge; Glossary entry: Adam. …”Called the bridge of Rama… It really joined Ceylon to India until 1480, when a breach was made through rocks during a storm. A subsequent storm enlarged this and foot traffic then ceased…Partly above and partly below water; but when covered has now here above three or four feet of water…”
Asiatic Society, 1799, Asiatick Researches: Or, Transactions of the Society Instituted in Bengal, P. 52 refers to the bridge called Setband (alt. spelling, setuband like Allahband; setu-bandha), broken in 3 places. It also notes “The people call it a bridge; or otherwise it appears to have wood growing on it, and to be inhabited.”
English word ‘bund’ comes from Bharatiya word: bandha as in setubandha.
Kaavya in Prakrit by Setubandha Kavya by the King Damodara Sen (5th Century).
King Pravarasena II (550-600 CE) called “Setu bandha or Ravanavaho, Dasamuha Vadha"
Numisamtic evidence
Ancient Setu (Aryachakravarti) coins of Jaffna, 13th century and Parantaka Chola copper plate (10th cent.)
Copper plate inscription of Parantaka Chola
(Nagaswamy R. 1979. Thiruttani and Velanjeri Copper Plates. +State Dept. Of Archaeology, Tamilnadu. Madras. See: L’Hernault F. 1978. L’Iconographie de Subrahmanya au Tamilnad, Institut Francais d’ Indologie. Pondichery, p.111, ph. 63.) The copper plates indicate that Aparajitavarman went to Setutirtha.
Sculptural evidence of 10th century
Rama Setu in sculptures (9th and 10th centuries CE)
Setubandha venerated as sacred tirtha by Alwars and Nayanmars
Rameswaram is one of the 12 jyotirlinga sthalams.
Pilgrimage to Ganga (Kas’ivis’wanatha) is complete only after the pilgrimage to Rameswaram and Setutirtham.
Setutirtha snaanam as sacred. Mahatittha in Sri Lanka.
Setutirham for mothers desirous of children
No ploughs are used in Ramanathapuram district : peoples’ belief that the earth is sacred since Sri Rama made three s’ivalinga using this earth
Any fisherman extracting stone together with algae does prayas’cittam
Court orders
- Evidence for Rama Setu accepted. Courts use the word Rama Setu/Adam’s Bridge
- Violation of Section 295 of IPC (AIR 1958 SC 1032 Veerapathra Chettiar Vs. Ramaswamy Naicker)
- Section 295: “with the intention of hereby insulting the religion of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an insult to the religion.”
- HC noted: Sir A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar Committee expressly rejected the idea of cutting a channel through the bridge and said that the idea should be abandoned.
- Punjab and Haryana High Court held that Brahmasarovar was deemed to be a monument
- Ramanathapuram judge: Final opinion could be pronounced only after subjecting their documents to thorough scrutiny with the opinions of experts in the field (archaeology and geology)
- SC order: “Till September 14, the alleged Rama Sethu/Adam’s bridge shall not be damaged in any manner. Dredging activity may be carried out so long as it does not damage Rama Sethu.”
Scientific investigations and results
- Department of Earth Sciences noted in their report of March 2007, based on the report of a consultant that around Rameswaram, there are raised Teri formations that supported a rich assemblage of mesolithic – microlithic tools indicating the presence of strong human habitation and activity in these areas as early as 8000 to 9000 years B.P and as recent as 4000 years B.P. On Sri Lanka side there are indications of human habitation extending to late Pleistocene (about 13,000 B.P) based on bone and fossils of human and animal form.
- All these point to a flourishing human activity on both sides of Adams Bridge and probably when the sea levels were just right the link between India and Sri Lanka could have been established.
A volcanic canyon west of Rama Setu, 1 m to 3000 m slope
Abstract A paleoslump underlies the western toe of the East Comorin Slump at a depth of some 800 meters. To the south, an enlarging and deepening submarine canyon marks the area of slump coalescence. See William Vestal and Allen Lowrie, Geology and Geophysics Branch-Code 7220, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office NSTL Station, 39522, MS
http://www.springerlink.com /content/m602j3k746342lnl/
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