02-29-2008, 05:56 PM
<b>Centre files fresh affidavit on Sethusamudram project</b>
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New Delhi: The Centre has filed fresh affidavit on Sethusamudram project in the Supreme Court. <b>The affidavit seeks vacation of apex court's interim orders of August 31, 2007 and September 14.</b>
<b>The Centre says state policy cannot be decided on the basis of any faith.</b>
And whether the Ram Sethu was constructed by Ram or not, it cannot be determined by scientific methods.
The Centre also adds that this is a possible alignment for the Sethusamudram project and besides, the danger of tsunami will be minimised by coming out of this project.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had approved a new affidavit on Ram Setu. The Government sought to lift the stay on the construction of the controversial project off the Tamil Nadu coastline.
The affidavit will be filed in Supreme Court on March 5. Sources have told CNN-IBN that the Government wants the project to go ahead, something which the DMK - a key ally of the Government - has been demanding for some time now.
However, the UPA has been more cautious this time around. It says there is no available scientific evidence to prove that Ram Setu is a man-made structure, but adds that the <b>Archaeological Survey of India doesn't have the expertise</b> to either support to contradict this conclusion.
The affidavit also says that the legend of Lord Ram in literature, philosophy and religious sentiment occupies a significant place in the psyche of a large segment of Indian society.
<b>Significantly, the Government is also ready to consider an alternate alignment that would not affect the structure.</b> The Government wants work on the project to start in November should the Supreme Court give its go ahead.
The views of the Culture Ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India on the historical and cultural aspects of the case also have been taken note of.
In the first affidavit which was filed by the centre on the Sethusamundram project (and later withdrawn) the Centre had made the following controversial statements:
<b>Ram Setu is not a manmade structure, but a natural formation made up of shoals
Valmiki's Ramayan and Ramcharitmanas are mythological texts and they cannot be reiled upon</b>
<b>Ram Setu is at best a case of disputed mythology</b> and not a matter of historical importance Sethusamudram Project
The Sethusamudram Project was originally conceived by a British commander of the Indian Marine, A D Taylor, in 1860. And while he may have been inspired by the Suez Canal at that time, nearly one and a half centuries later, India's decision to revive his abandoned dream project will have very little similarity to the vastly profitable Suez Canal or Panama Canal.
At least that's what this study done by a group of researchers led by Jacob <b>John and Sudarshan Rodriguez </b>claims.
"What we find is that the project has based its economic rationale only on distance saved for coastal shipping which is the highest which is 22 hours and the time saved is 22 hours," said senior research associate Sudarshan Rodriguez from <b>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.</b>
But Rodriguez says for ships coming from Europe and Africa, the time saved is only 30 per cent of what is claimed by the project. From Aden time saved is just 8-12 hours. From Mauritius ships will actually lose time.
"The tariff for this project is based on the savings from," said Rodriguez.
Coastal shipping saying that 50 per cent of time saved will be the tariff charged. So for a vessel which is around 20,000 Dead Weight Tons (DWT) we find that the savings by using the canal will be around $18,000.
"So ideally tariff then would be $9000. However the savings for a ship coming from Aden is only $4000. So if a ship from Aden is using the canal they are losing $5000," said Rodriguez.
This study also found that 70 per cent of shipping traffic in the Indian Ocean are big shipping vessels like oil tankers and bulk carriers. So it becomes next to impossible for them to navigate this narrow channel.
Captain Balakrishnan, a retired Indian Navy frigate commander who's done a parallel study says that ships would go around Sri Lanka rather than have to go through a canal with draught restrictions and with a need for a pilot to embark and disembark from the ship.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Fri, Feb 29 04:30 PM
New Delhi: The Centre has filed fresh affidavit on Sethusamudram project in the Supreme Court. <b>The affidavit seeks vacation of apex court's interim orders of August 31, 2007 and September 14.</b>
<b>The Centre says state policy cannot be decided on the basis of any faith.</b>
And whether the Ram Sethu was constructed by Ram or not, it cannot be determined by scientific methods.
The Centre also adds that this is a possible alignment for the Sethusamudram project and besides, the danger of tsunami will be minimised by coming out of this project.
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs had approved a new affidavit on Ram Setu. The Government sought to lift the stay on the construction of the controversial project off the Tamil Nadu coastline.
The affidavit will be filed in Supreme Court on March 5. Sources have told CNN-IBN that the Government wants the project to go ahead, something which the DMK - a key ally of the Government - has been demanding for some time now.
However, the UPA has been more cautious this time around. It says there is no available scientific evidence to prove that Ram Setu is a man-made structure, but adds that the <b>Archaeological Survey of India doesn't have the expertise</b> to either support to contradict this conclusion.
The affidavit also says that the legend of Lord Ram in literature, philosophy and religious sentiment occupies a significant place in the psyche of a large segment of Indian society.
<b>Significantly, the Government is also ready to consider an alternate alignment that would not affect the structure.</b> The Government wants work on the project to start in November should the Supreme Court give its go ahead.
The views of the Culture Ministry and the Archaeological Survey of India on the historical and cultural aspects of the case also have been taken note of.
In the first affidavit which was filed by the centre on the Sethusamundram project (and later withdrawn) the Centre had made the following controversial statements:
<b>Ram Setu is not a manmade structure, but a natural formation made up of shoals
Valmiki's Ramayan and Ramcharitmanas are mythological texts and they cannot be reiled upon</b>
<b>Ram Setu is at best a case of disputed mythology</b> and not a matter of historical importance Sethusamudram Project
The Sethusamudram Project was originally conceived by a British commander of the Indian Marine, A D Taylor, in 1860. And while he may have been inspired by the Suez Canal at that time, nearly one and a half centuries later, India's decision to revive his abandoned dream project will have very little similarity to the vastly profitable Suez Canal or Panama Canal.
At least that's what this study done by a group of researchers led by Jacob <b>John and Sudarshan Rodriguez </b>claims.
"What we find is that the project has based its economic rationale only on distance saved for coastal shipping which is the highest which is 22 hours and the time saved is 22 hours," said senior research associate Sudarshan Rodriguez from <b>Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.</b>
But Rodriguez says for ships coming from Europe and Africa, the time saved is only 30 per cent of what is claimed by the project. From Aden time saved is just 8-12 hours. From Mauritius ships will actually lose time.
"The tariff for this project is based on the savings from," said Rodriguez.
Coastal shipping saying that 50 per cent of time saved will be the tariff charged. So for a vessel which is around 20,000 Dead Weight Tons (DWT) we find that the savings by using the canal will be around $18,000.
"So ideally tariff then would be $9000. However the savings for a ship coming from Aden is only $4000. So if a ship from Aden is using the canal they are losing $5000," said Rodriguez.
This study also found that 70 per cent of shipping traffic in the Indian Ocean are big shipping vessels like oil tankers and bulk carriers. So it becomes next to impossible for them to navigate this narrow channel.
Captain Balakrishnan, a retired Indian Navy frigate commander who's done a parallel study says that ships would go around Sri Lanka rather than have to go through a canal with draught restrictions and with a need for a pilot to embark and disembark from the ship.
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