AIADMK to move court if SSCP dredging work continues

Chennai, Jan 27 (UNI) AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa today said her party would move court if the ongoing dredging work at Sethu Samudram Canal Project (SSCP) which caused destruction of Adam's bridge (called Ramar bridge in mythology) at Palk Straits was not immediately stopped.

At a time when there were efforts to preserve historical sites and heritage monuments across the world, the SSCP had begun destroying the Adam's bridge, which had historical significance to India and its people, she said in a statement here.

''We can't accept the demolition of Ramar bridge. Just for the pecuniary gains of a few, historical monuments like Ramar bridge cannot be allowed to be destroyed. We will certainly move the court in this regard'', she added.

Ms Jayalalithaa said the deepening of the channel at Palk Straits as part of the SSCP, undertaken by the Central Government in which the DMK was a constitutent, had brought immense harm to the marine ecology.

It was affecting the livelihood of coastal fishermen and also raising questions as to how they were going to dump off unearthed mud from the ocean bed, she said.

Ms Jayalalithaa said during the course of deepening of the channel, over 3,600 sea animals and plant kingdoms were on the danger of extinction and an endangered species, dugong, would be totally wiped off.

Besides, many range of mangroves, dolphins, whales and over 100 types of coral reefs faced near extinction because of the Sethu project, she said.

UNI