Jaya flays Sethusamudram project

Chief minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa today criticised the Rs 2,427 crore Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) saying that the implementation of this project will cause adverse impact on the environment thereby affecting the livelihood of fishermen.

The SSCP will allow ships to sail between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka to circumnavigate peninsular India. At present, they have to sail around Sri Lanka to do so, a route that adds 780 kilometres and 30 hours to the journey.

The traffic through the canal is expected to be largely coal, finished goods and downstream petroproducts. However, the corporation had decided to avoid transport of crude oil through the canal because of the high level of environmental sensitivity of the area.

According to a press release, the environmental study for the project was carried out by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), which stated that the project, if implemented , would harm the marine inhabitants, coral reefs besides affecting the livelihood of the fishermen in that region.

Jayalalithaa stated that without utilising the proper modelling tools to evacuate the marine wastes, the Union Minister of Shipping, Highways and Road Transport is keen on implementing the project.

The Sethusamudram canal was first conceived in 1860. Between 1860 and 1922, nine proposals were thought of to build a canal across a narrow strip of land, mostly Rameswaram island, to link Palk Bay to Gulf of Mannar. The SSCP is to build the canal through a reef called Adam's Bridge.