The BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai has reiterated his claim that the ‘Sethusamudram’ waterway project ‘fails on multiple fronts’, one of which is the potential damage to the ‘Ram Setu’ (bridge), which according to the epic ‘Ramayana’ was created to rescue Sita from the clutches of Ravana. Annamalai said, “When the UPA government was in power, the DMK government wanted the ‘Setu Samudram’ project to be implemented.Under this project, ships can avoid a longer route around Sri Lanka and reach the Toothukudi port directly. The DMK said it (the project) will save money and attract cargo traffic towards India.” The Sethusamudran project aims at creating a continuous, navigable route around the Indian peninsula, so that ships, instead of going around Sri Lanka because of the shallow water, can reach the Tamil Nadu coast directly, resulting in siginificant economic benefits to India, according to reports.”It is the Adam’s Bridge in English and Ramarpalam in Tamil. It means Ram’s Bridge. Also called the ‘Ram Setu’ in Hindi, the 58-km-long landmass bridge connects India and Sri Lanka,” the BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief said. He said the primary objection to the project is the potential damage to the ‘Ram Setu’.”The DMK presented a drawing of an alignment ‘4A’ for the Setu Samudran project, which breaks through the Ram Setu. In 2018, the central government submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, saying that it had an objection to the ‘4A’ alignment as it will destroy the Ram Setu and the Union government was considering other alignments where the ‘Ram Setu’ won’t even be touched,” he said.He further alleged that the stand of the DMK and the Congress-led UPA has been that there is ‘nothing like’ Ram Setu and it is all a figment of imagination.
