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        T R Baalu as Union Shipping and Transport Minister, like the Indian monsoon, has shown all the vagaries of an oriental potentate in dealing with the different aspects / stages / phases of the Setusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP), 'commercially viable' (from his private point of view!!) and disastrous for the nation as a whole in every sense of the term. This has been eloquently brought out by Dandi Swami Sri Vidyananda Bharati in his Demand Notice Petition has stated that 'the EIA study conducted by the NEERI also does not comply with the requirements of the EIA Manual, which represents the policy of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests'. The EIA study conducted by NEERI does not conform to the prescribed requirements of the EIA Manual with regard, inter alias, to the following respects:

        A) The option of how the environment would fare if there were no 'SSCP' 'Project' was mandatorily required to be considered under the EIA Manual as a fundamental analytical tool and premise for determining whether the environmental clearance should be granted to the 'Project'. This aspect was not considered at all by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) while giving its hasty 'Political Clearance' under severe DMK pressure, conveniently resorting to the subterfuge of the so called 'handle' of according environmental clearance to the SSCP on 31-03-2005.

        B) While according its political environmental clearance on 31-03-2005, no assessment was made by the MOEF of the impact of the 'Project' on significant historical, cultural and archeological sites/places in the area, which is mandated under the EIA Manual. A reading of the EIA Study Report does not disclose any study having been conducted by the NEERI in this behalf, with the aid and assistance of experts in the relevant fields.

        There is considerable evidence to show that the Ram Setu is man- made. A Report of the Department of Earth Sciences states as follows:

        'During the glacial Maxima, the sea level was about 130 m lower than what is today. This is evidenced both on the east and west coast of India, where submerged Corals occur around 1 to 2m water depths and they are clear indicators of near coastal zone… However, during the last ice age (18,000 year BP) the entire area from India to Sri Lanka and further south and southeast were contagious land due to the highly lowered sea level. As and when there were major melting of glaciers both from the mountains as well as from the Antarctic area, the sea level was rising. These features were well recorded and studied by several submerged Coral formations all over the world. About 7,300 years BP the sea level in the southern part of India was about 3.5 m above the present level. This has been deciphered by Dr P K Banerjee, who studied Corals that were found in the land part of Pamban, Rameswaram, and Tuticorin etc. Subsequently the sea level went down and rose +2m above than what is today between 5000 to 4000 years B.P. In almost of all the boreholes between 4.5 and 7.5m the borehole intersected hard formations, which have been found to be calcareous sand stones and corals. It is to be pointed out here that Corals are comparatively less dense, compact and somewhat easy to carry. The Corals normally grow atop compact to hard formations for the purpose of stability, and as the sea level rises, the Coral colony grows up vertically to maintain water depth of 1 to 2 m, which is essential for their survival. It is always observed that these Corals have continuous vertical growth like Lakshadweep, Andaman's, and Gulf Of Mannar Natural Park. These have always been found to grow on hard rock bottom. IN THE CASE OF ADAMS BRIDGE AREA WE OBSERVE THAT THE CORAL FORMATIONS HARDLY OCCUR 1 TO 2.5M IN LENGTH AND RESTING ON LOOSE MARINE SANDS. MOST OF THESE CORAL ROCK PIECES ARE SEEM TO BE ROUNDED PEBBLES OF CORALS. THESE THINGS APPEAR TO POINT THESE CORAL ROCK PIECES AND PEBBLES HAVE BEEN TRANSPORTED AND PLACED IN THESE AREAS.' Source: Dept. of Earth Sciences, Govt of India (March 2007).
 

        Another brilliant Earth Scientist has also clearly brought out the fact that the Ram Setu is a man-made bridge. In a brilliant essay titled 'Geological and Geophysical Perspective', Dr S Badri Narayanan, formerly Joint Director of the Geological Survey of India has concluded on the geological surface in the Ram Setu area (Adam's Bridge area) as follows: 'It is a well known fact that the Coral reefs can only form in clean and unpolluted water and these being marine organisms require firm and compact formation as foundation. The presence of loose marine sand below these clearly indicates that these are not natural and are transported from elsewhere. Unless somebody has transported and dumped them, these could have not come there. Some of the boulders are so light that they could float on water. Apparently whoever has done it has identified it as light and strong boulders to make it easy for transportation. Since the boulders are strong, they can withstand lot of weight...The Adam's Bridge is a wonderful divide separating the turbulent Bay of Bengal in the North and the calm and tranquil waters of the Gulf of Mannar to the South. Due to the tranquil condition, very rare species of Corals and other organisms grew in the Gulf of Mannar, whereas such species are completely absent in the Bay of Bengal side. The turbulent tide and the associated sediments caused by the severe cyclone that occur every year in the Bay of Bengal are prevented by the ridge of the Ram Setu or Adam's Bridge and thereby protect the delicate conditions in the Gulf of Mannar'.

        Thus Dr Badrinarayanan has categorically warned that the dredging and opening of the Ram Setu Bridge (Adam's Bridge) may cause the sediments and turbulent tide from the Bay of Bengal to enter the tranquil Gulf of Mannar and choke and destroy the delicate Coral island. In short, he has clearly stated that the SSCP should not cut across the Ram Setu Bridge.

        T R Baalu and Chairman Tuticorin Port Trust have callously disregarded the sound technical advice given by the Department of Earth Sciences, Government of India and Dr. Badrinarayanan. For global Dravidian leaders like T R Baalu, the 'rational' 'KEEMAYANA' condensed in the inspiring words of Periyar in Tamil with Non-Aryan fervour as given below are more relevant than any superstitious scientific and technical advice given by the Anti-South and Anti-Tamil Departments of the Government of India:

        I am giving a translation of the above words of wisdom of Periyar's Keemayana. 'If there is a fire noticed in a lake, and if any fool wants to put out that fire by giving his advice to the effect that the best way to put out that fire is by spraying water upon it, drawn from a small well near by——such is the inappropriate message of foolish falsehood in the Valmiki Ramayana'….Periyar

        Dandi Swami Sri Vidyananda Bharati has not allowed himself to be seduced or misled by the underlying bestial spirit or spirit (less ness!!) of kinetic 'Keemayana'. In his Demand Notice Petition he has clearly brought out the fact through rigorous scientific analysis that Ram Setu clearly was built countless centuries ago and not within the last 100 years and since it is man-made, it is entitled to be designated as an 'Ancient Monument' under Section 2(a) read with Section 4 of the or as an 'Archaeological Site' under Section 2(d) read with Section 4 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

        Further, it is also relevant to point out that the Gulf of Mannar region is known to be, essentially, a sedimentation sink; and there is ample evidence pointing to the fact that the tsunami has altered the bathymetry of the region. The sea bed has risen in height in most places, on account of deposit of silt etc. carried by the tsunami and deposited in these areas. None of these factors have ever been taken into account by any of the expert bodies/authorities who played a key role in giving their final clearance for the Setusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP).

        The NEERI study was defective and lopsided because it made no attempt to make it a comprehensive inter-disciplinary study by enlisting the services of specialists from earth sciences such as geo-morphologists, sedimentologists, mineralogists, oceanographers, climatologists, etc., whose presence was a vital pre-condition for doing a proper analysis.

        Finally no self respecting Hindu can miss the fact that Dandi Swami Sri Vidyananda Bharati's Demand Notice Petition is marked by The Art of Power, The Art of Wisdom, The Power of Thought, The Power of the Heart, The Power of a Dream, The Power of People, The Power of the Spirit and The Power of the Infinite. His heroic message to all the Hindus of India and the world today is this 'All that I have seen teaches me to trust the CREATOR for all I have not seen. Believing is a daring adventure into the unseen; it is a radiant faith in the unexplored, the undiscovered, the miracles of the future. There is magic in the art of believing!! Believe in the limitless flow of God's goodness and grace. The Universe is filled with more wonders than you can ever imagine. Unite and fight for your religious rights!! You have nothing to lose but your chains!! You are divinely appointed guardians of all the powers man has evolved since time began. It is your duty to use these powers for the continued growth and development of all the Hindus as a race and to pass them on renewed and enlarged to those who will follow you'.