The project
• Dredging a 167-km channel across the Palk Strait, between India and Sri Lanka, so that ships, travelling between east and west, get direct passage through Indian waters rather than circumnavigating Lanka. Cuts sailing time by 30 hrs.
The fake scientist
• The RSS and VHP want the ship channel project to be rerouted to protect the coral structures they claim is the sethu built by Lord Ram to get to Sri Lanka and rescue Sita. They want it to be recognised as a World Heritage site.
The science
• Geological Survey of India study found that the Sethu isn’t manmade but a result of sedimentation of clay, sandstone and limestone. NASA calls it a tomobolo, a bar of sand connecting one island with another that usually indicates a constant sediment source.
(with Vikas Dhoot & ENS, Bangalore)
Epaper
Newsletter
Stocks
Weather
Horoscope
