I congratulate you for the knowledge of geography and history you have displayed in post 27, not to speak of the literary genius. As for me in the reply, I will try my best to steer clear of all unnecessary comments you made, and ignore them.
you said:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Ramar Sethu is broken at Pamban, where there is a rail bridge (maybe also a road bridge now) that is about a mile long.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all, check your data! Ramar Setu does NOT even start at Pamban!!!
Island of Rameshwaram, is about 11 miles in length and 6 miles in width. Pamban is on its WESTERN side, while Ramar Setu starts from the EASTERN tip of this island - Dhanush Koti - which is a good 10 miles away from the port of Pamban!
Refer to this image to understand the location of Ram Setu's beginning point - Dhanush Koti on the eastern side and Pamban on the western side:
<img src='http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/351/2113447210100818794S500x500Q85.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
and Ram Setu:
<img src='http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/111/2584078110100818794S500x500Q85.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
cartographic image explaining this in next post since I can't post more than 3 images at a time.
The separation between mainlands and island of Rameshwar is less than 2 miles wide and is known as Pamban Channel. The railway and road bridges you mentioned is constructed over this channel to connect the mainland point called Mandapam, and the "western" tip of Rameshwaram called Pamban port. (The road bridge named faithfully as "Indira Gandhi Bridge" is a suspension structure, construction started in 1972 and completed in 1988. Railway brigde exists since 1911, and is collapsible which allows ships of smaller size to pass beneath it. (There goes one NEED of relief traffic reaching the dying children on east coast from the west coast, that you mentioned earlier, but did not respond to my post). See an image of a vessel passing beneath this bridge:
<img src='http://www.ramnad.tn.nic.in/images/Final_Scissors%20Bridge%20001.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Surely there is no land connection, and has not been for ages.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is only partly right, that too if 'ages' is to be left unspecified. Isle of Rameshwar may have actually been part of the main land at some point in time, or gap may have been much less than it is now. Even during sultanate era Malik Kafuur (and Amir Khusrau?) had traveled to Rameshwaram island 800 years back, records of which can still be found, and the description of the gap does not show that it was a difficult navigation.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Millions of people clim up to Sabari Mala every year. Very holy place. Why is this sacrilege allowed? Shouldn't all travel be banned there too?
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Millions climb **FOR** pilgrimage. Unfortunately the point of the example Husky had sited was lost on you.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As for the "need" for the SSC to allow shipping through, rather than go 350 km (must around SL, well, there is no NEED for the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A) Another marvel of your common sense that you have shown in this great comparision! Suez Canal saves the circumnavigation of the entire continent of Africa and Panama Canal saves that of South America. Setu Sagar Canal will save the shipping distance of about 350 miles, and a few hours of travel. Very comparable! Hats off to your objectivity!
B) Also you are sounding as if anyone is opposing the creation of the canal itself!!! Whereas in reality all the opposition is asking for is to modify the alignment of the proposed canal so as not to damage the Ramar Setu; and to review the design with respect to new data which has become available in terms of the Tsunami! Full stop.
However the real conflict is this. The propogators of **this and this and this design only*** totally deny (sometimes openly other times by ignoring) that there is any such thing as Ramar Setu which deserves to be preserved as heritage. And since there is nothing like Ramar Setu, let us just destroy the 'coral reef' after taking in account 'ecological' considerations as Sonia Ji is saying! This way they just pooh-pooh the heritage angle on the ground of 'What Ramar Setu - you mean Adms Bridge which is a sandbank"?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->All they are proposing to do here is to build a sustainable canal, with a RELIABLE depth chart so that ships can go through. You won't be able to see this channel where it crosses the "Ramar Bridge". GOOGLE won't be able to see it either, and neither will NASA...
NASA<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all the opposition is NOT to the canal, but to ***this design*** of the canal. Also do you know what you WILL have done for future in terms of geopolitics? You would create a precedence for Sri Lanka to also do something like this if they liked on their side of the water, to Ramar Bridge. Today Srilanka does not have such a need or resources, but who knows after 100 years? 200 years - the way Christos are recolonizing Sri Lanka? Just to demolish the oldest symbol of Hindu continuity. You can internally claim the heritage angle, but when it comes to international geo-politics they would not listen. Not if Sri Lanka goes the way it is going right now.
So issue is not just physical damage to Ramar Bridge, but ANY compromising change in status quo of Ramar Bridge. In fact that is one reason why probably RSS may have though of proposing to get this UNESCO Heritage status. That way it becomes internationally recognized as such.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->IOW, Shri Ramar, PBUH, would get his fine pointed shoes very wet if he tried "Sethu-ing" through
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am not surprised that with your level of understanding of history and geography you have no basic understanding of even the epic called Ramayana.
Sri Ram lived barefooted all through his years during the vanavasa, as was befitting for vanavasi. In fact Yuddha Kandam relates about this that on that day of battle when Sri Rama and Ravana came face to face, Shri Ram was fighting barefoot whereas Ravana was on his mighty chariot. This subdued and overawed Vibhishanâs morale. When he spoke to Sri Rama in his low morale, Sri Rama replied saying, "Vibhishan, you see not my Vijaya rath? So what if I am barefooted? Chivalry tempered with patience are wheels of my invisible chariot, truth is its high-flying pennant, wisdom and valour are my horses, compassion is their reins and a prayer to the almighty along with the obedience to my Guru is the impenetrable armour. Pray, Vibhishana, what better chariot of war can there be, leading to victory?ââ
May Purushottam Sri Rama give sadbuddhi to all.
you said:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The Ramar Sethu is broken at Pamban, where there is a rail bridge (maybe also a road bridge now) that is about a mile long.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all, check your data! Ramar Setu does NOT even start at Pamban!!!
Island of Rameshwaram, is about 11 miles in length and 6 miles in width. Pamban is on its WESTERN side, while Ramar Setu starts from the EASTERN tip of this island - Dhanush Koti - which is a good 10 miles away from the port of Pamban!
Refer to this image to understand the location of Ram Setu's beginning point - Dhanush Koti on the eastern side and Pamban on the western side:
<img src='http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/351/2113447210100818794S500x500Q85.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
and Ram Setu:
<img src='http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/111/2584078110100818794S500x500Q85.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
cartographic image explaining this in next post since I can't post more than 3 images at a time.
The separation between mainlands and island of Rameshwar is less than 2 miles wide and is known as Pamban Channel. The railway and road bridges you mentioned is constructed over this channel to connect the mainland point called Mandapam, and the "western" tip of Rameshwaram called Pamban port. (The road bridge named faithfully as "Indira Gandhi Bridge" is a suspension structure, construction started in 1972 and completed in 1988. Railway brigde exists since 1911, and is collapsible which allows ships of smaller size to pass beneath it. (There goes one NEED of relief traffic reaching the dying children on east coast from the west coast, that you mentioned earlier, but did not respond to my post). See an image of a vessel passing beneath this bridge:
<img src='http://www.ramnad.tn.nic.in/images/Final_Scissors%20Bridge%20001.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Surely there is no land connection, and has not been for ages.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is only partly right, that too if 'ages' is to be left unspecified. Isle of Rameshwar may have actually been part of the main land at some point in time, or gap may have been much less than it is now. Even during sultanate era Malik Kafuur (and Amir Khusrau?) had traveled to Rameshwaram island 800 years back, records of which can still be found, and the description of the gap does not show that it was a difficult navigation.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Millions of people clim up to Sabari Mala every year. Very holy place. Why is this sacrilege allowed? Shouldn't all travel be banned there too?
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Millions climb **FOR** pilgrimage. Unfortunately the point of the example Husky had sited was lost on you.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->As for the "need" for the SSC to allow shipping through, rather than go 350 km (must around SL, well, there is no NEED for the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
A) Another marvel of your common sense that you have shown in this great comparision! Suez Canal saves the circumnavigation of the entire continent of Africa and Panama Canal saves that of South America. Setu Sagar Canal will save the shipping distance of about 350 miles, and a few hours of travel. Very comparable! Hats off to your objectivity!
B) Also you are sounding as if anyone is opposing the creation of the canal itself!!! Whereas in reality all the opposition is asking for is to modify the alignment of the proposed canal so as not to damage the Ramar Setu; and to review the design with respect to new data which has become available in terms of the Tsunami! Full stop.
However the real conflict is this. The propogators of **this and this and this design only*** totally deny (sometimes openly other times by ignoring) that there is any such thing as Ramar Setu which deserves to be preserved as heritage. And since there is nothing like Ramar Setu, let us just destroy the 'coral reef' after taking in account 'ecological' considerations as Sonia Ji is saying! This way they just pooh-pooh the heritage angle on the ground of 'What Ramar Setu - you mean Adms Bridge which is a sandbank"?
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->All they are proposing to do here is to build a sustainable canal, with a RELIABLE depth chart so that ships can go through. You won't be able to see this channel where it crosses the "Ramar Bridge". GOOGLE won't be able to see it either, and neither will NASA...
NASA<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
First of all the opposition is NOT to the canal, but to ***this design*** of the canal. Also do you know what you WILL have done for future in terms of geopolitics? You would create a precedence for Sri Lanka to also do something like this if they liked on their side of the water, to Ramar Bridge. Today Srilanka does not have such a need or resources, but who knows after 100 years? 200 years - the way Christos are recolonizing Sri Lanka? Just to demolish the oldest symbol of Hindu continuity. You can internally claim the heritage angle, but when it comes to international geo-politics they would not listen. Not if Sri Lanka goes the way it is going right now.
So issue is not just physical damage to Ramar Bridge, but ANY compromising change in status quo of Ramar Bridge. In fact that is one reason why probably RSS may have though of proposing to get this UNESCO Heritage status. That way it becomes internationally recognized as such.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->IOW, Shri Ramar, PBUH, would get his fine pointed shoes very wet if he tried "Sethu-ing" through
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am not surprised that with your level of understanding of history and geography you have no basic understanding of even the epic called Ramayana.
Sri Ram lived barefooted all through his years during the vanavasa, as was befitting for vanavasi. In fact Yuddha Kandam relates about this that on that day of battle when Sri Rama and Ravana came face to face, Shri Ram was fighting barefoot whereas Ravana was on his mighty chariot. This subdued and overawed Vibhishanâs morale. When he spoke to Sri Rama in his low morale, Sri Rama replied saying, "Vibhishan, you see not my Vijaya rath? So what if I am barefooted? Chivalry tempered with patience are wheels of my invisible chariot, truth is its high-flying pennant, wisdom and valour are my horses, compassion is their reins and a prayer to the almighty along with the obedience to my Guru is the impenetrable armour. Pray, Vibhishana, what better chariot of war can there be, leading to victory?ââ
May Purushottam Sri Rama give sadbuddhi to all.