Swamy appeals to president Kalam to save Ramsethu

New Delhi, May 7 (UNI) Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today appealed to President A P J Abdul Kalam seeking his intervention to save the historic Ramsethu while implementing Sethu Samudram Project to link eastern and western coasts of the southern peninsula.

Dr Swamy, who met Dr Kalam, in a release have said he had sought the President's intervention to save the 9,000-year old bridge and ask the government to change its alignment and stick to the route to pass through Pamban island as proposed originally in 1996 but changed arbitarily in 2004.

In his memorandum, the Janata Party President said the existence of bridge like formation below the sea was established from the satellite imaging of the US National Aero Space Agency. The Earth Sciences Department and National Institute of Ocean Technology had opined that the structure known as Adams needle during the colonial rule was not a natural one, indirectly confirming the belief that the bridge was 9,000-year old and made at the instructions of Rama to liberate Seeta from the captivity of Lankan King Ravana.

Dr Swamy asked the President to take note of the statement of former Supreme Court judges V S Krishna Iyer and K T Thomas, who have sought to save the ancient bridge by declaring it a heritage.

''These personlities like yourself have no axe to grind,'' Dr Swamy told Dr Kalam to advise Prime Minister to save the project from vandalising the bridge.

UNI