Ramsethu needs to be protected at any cost: VHP

Mumbai, May 10 (UNI) Vishwa Hindu Parishad Joint General Secretary Prof Venkatesh Abdeo today stressed that the ancient ''Ramsethu'' connecting Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and Talaimannar in Sri lanka should not be allowed to be destroyed at any cost.

The ''Ramsethu'' should be declared as a protected monument under the Protection of Monuments Act and should also be declared as a World Heritage Site by the Centre, Prof Abdeo said while speaking to reporters here today.

Even the age of ''Ramsethu'' as confirmed by the NASA conforms to the era of Lord Rama, Prof Abdeo added.

Hence, the ''Ramsethu'' should not be destroyed at any cost.

Instead alternative sea routes need to be explored under the Sethu Samudram Shipping Canal project. He claimed that three per cent of the ''monument'' had already been destroyed.

That apart, he said thorium deposits have been found in the vicinity of the ''monument'' and these deposits should not become available to foreign agencies.

UNI