Chennai, September 15: What damage a paragraph can make. The Centre may have told the Supreme Court that it will review the “entire matter” of the Sethusamudram project and will be open to any alternative suggestion but experts on the ground say that’s not going to be easy.

They suggest that it’s difficult to find any alternative to the present “alignment” (the canal’s route) which cuts through the Ram Sethu, believed in Ramayana to be the bridge built by Lord Rama’s allies to help him reach Lanka and rescue Sita.

While six alignments were proposed through the years by various committees, five were found to be non-feasible by NEERI which conducted the Environment Impact Assessment study based on issues of environment, fishermen’s livelihood and easy navigation.

NEERI found that while Alignment No. 1 cut through the mainland, Alignment 2 cut through the famous Rameshwaram temple which draws thousands of pilgrims every year from all over the country. Alignment 3 passed east of Rameshwaram temple but cut through the second famous temple in Rameswaram, the Kothandaramaswamy temple. So this too was found to be

not feasible.

According to port experts, Alignment 4, suggested by the BJP, would cut through the core of the eco-sensitive Marine Bio-park in the Palk Bay. “Not just that, this alignment was found to affect fishermen most and was also least practical from the navigation point of view as it was against the direction of wind, wave and current,” pointed out a senior officer who did not wish to be named.

Alignment 5 went too close to the eastern tip of Dhanushkodi (Land’s End) near Rameshwaram and was difficult for navigation.

So that left Alignment 6, which has the “least adverse impact” and would have to cut through Adam’s Bridge. What’s worrying the project managers is that any new study of an alternative alignment is bound to delay the project further by at least a year. “Besides studies on floor, wave and sedimentation modeling, the geological profile of the sub-soil, environment impact assessment and navigation simulation studies would also have to be carried out. All this would take a minimum of one year,” the officer pointed out.

The deadline for completing the Rs 2,427-crore project is November 30, 2008. Five dredgers are currently operating in the sea off Rameshwaram in the Palk Bay and Palk Strait and north of Adam’s Bridge. Dredging to the south of Adam’s Bridge was stopped in April-end due to monsoon activity and the difficulty in using a ‘cutter section’ dredger during this time.

Nearly 35% of the dredging has been completed for creating the 167-km-long channel, 300 metres wide and 12 metres deep, expected to reduce the steaming distances between the East and West Coast of India, and improve navigation.

The ‘Ram Sethu’ controversy and consequent delay in the project implementation is bound to worry the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu as the canal is to be projected as one of its major achievements during the next Lok Sabha elections.