Protect Ramsetu

Rama's Bridge (also called the Adams Bridge) or Ram Setu (Devanagari) is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of India. The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep. This seriously hinders navigation. It was reportedly passable on foot up to the 15th century until storms deepened the channel: temple records seem to say that Rama’s Bridge was complete above sea level until it broke in a cyclone in 1480 AD.

The name Rama's Bridge originates in Hindu belief. According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, the bridge was constructed at Rama's request by his allies. The bridge was supported on floating sand rocks but the gods were said to have later anchored the rocks to the sea bed, thus creating the present chain of rocky shoals. It was said to have helped Rama to reach Sri Lanka to rescue his wife Sita from the demon (Asura) king called Ravana, who was then the ruler of Lanka.

NASA [National Aeronautics & space Administration], USA research and pictures from space shows the wonderful old-age man made bridge between SriLanka and Rameshwaram.

Recently the Government of India has approved a multi-million dollar Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project that aims to create a ship channel across the Palk Strait. The plan is to dredge the shallow ocean floor near the Dhanushkodi end of Rama's Bridge to create enough leeway allowing ships to pass through the channel instead of having to go around the island of Sri Lanka. It is expected to save nearly 30 hours' shipping time by cutting over 400 km off the voyage. However, efforts to conserve the heritage of the bridge has been initiated under the Ram Karmabhoomi movement; and there is fear that the large amount of dredging needed would damage coral reefs in the area, directly and by stirring up sediment.World Monuments Fund has recommended that the Government of India send scuba divers underwater to collect sand deposits from the bridge and analyse them in the laboratory.

The determined moves made by the Central Government to build the Sethusamudaram canal by cutting across Rama's Bridge (also called the Adams Bridge) has far-reaching implications and detrimental effects for all Hindus:

- The priceless heritage in the form of Rama's Bridge (also called Adams Bridge) is to be removed altogether.

- Rameshwaram, which is one of the holiest locations for Hindus, will get submerged like Dhanushkodi, which got submerged in the 1960s and like Poompuhar, which got submerged in the Sangam period.

- Just like some of the classical Greek and Egyptian treasures and heritage are being excavated in the West from below the sea, there is a strong possibility for excavation of the Poompuhar heritage. But this will be lost if the Sethusamudaram canal comes up.

- Destroying the barrier between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea is likely to result in severe climatic changes such that the very pattern of monsoon rainfall in India could get altered for the worse. Does not the spirit of Hinduism enjoin us to live in harmony with nature, rather than play with it and jeopardize the very future of Bharatvarsha?

- In the assessment of Dr.T.S.Murty, leading tsunami expert, the project could cause a tsunami with drastic consequences for the entire shoreline extending from Dhanushkodi to Ernakulam, and from the Delft Island to Colombo.