SC refuses stay on Setusamudram project

New Delhi, May 21 (UNI) The Supreme Court today refused to grant interim stay against the implementation of Setusamudram shipping canal project which will distroy the barrier called Ramsetu, believed to have been constructed by Lord Rama and his vanar sena to cross the sea from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka which was ruled by the demon king Ravana.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and D K Jain, however, fixed May 28 for hearing of the writ petition filed by Dandi Swami Vidyananda Bharti and others.

The petitioners today contended before the court that the Ramsetu situated in southeast of Rameshwaram near Pamban which connects Talaimanar coast of Sri Lanka commands great respect among the majority of the population of the country.

According to the Hindu mythology the setu was build by Lord Rama to free his wife Sita from the captivity of the demon king Ravana who had abducted her.

The plaintiffs have sought directions to the Union Government and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Geological Survey of India, state of Tamil Nadu and Tuticorin Board Trust, Setusamudram Corporation Ltd, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and L&T Ramboll Consulting Engineers Ltd to appoint a fresh committe of Geo-morphologists, sedimentologists, mineralogists, oceanographers, climatologists and tsunami experts to study and submit a report examining the viability of the project.

The petitioners have also prayed to the court to direct the respondents to make arrangements for the rehabilitation of fishermen. They have further sought directives to minimise the damage to the environment while preserving the ecological balance along with flora and fauna of the ocean.

The petition calls for directions to the government to keep in mind the cost of huge displacement of more than 5 lakhs citizens of the country and also to declare Ramsetu as a protected monument and also to take steps to get it declared a world heritage.

The present project has rocked Parliament and the four Shankaracharyas are proceeding to Rameshwaram to stall the project which is posing threat to Ramsetu as well as the environment of the area.

UNI