CHENNAI: A Parliamentary enquiry committee, aided by teams of multi-disciplinary experts, should review and re-evaluate the alignment of the Sethusamudram channel project, S. Kalyanaraman, director, Sarasvati Research Centre and former senior executive of the Asian Development Bank, said on Tuesday.

Making this demand in the context of the controversy over the Ramar Sethu or Adam's Bridge in the Palk Strait, Mr. Kalyanaraman, who addressed a press conference along with Vishwa Hindu Parishad international president Ashok Singhal and a host of religious leaders, objected to the way the project was being implemented. There were documentary, scientific, archaeological and geological evidence to conclude that the Ramar Sethu existed in the Palk Strait.

Referring to the website of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the subject, Mr. Kalyanaraman, an Indologist, said the Centre could have tapped the services of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for satellite imageries instead of writing to the NASA.

Contending that the project in its present design did not have any provision for tsunami assessment, he referred to the concerns expressed by tsunami expert Tad Murthy over the possible adverse impact on the coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the wake of another tsunami.

He argued that the choice of the medial line as the passage channel opened up serious concerns of national sovereignty and security.

Five alternatives

Mr. Singhal demanded that the work on the project be suspended immediately. His organisation and the religious leaders were not against the project per se; they were opposed to the present alignment that involved damaging the Ramar Sethu. There were five alternatives and the VHP and the Hindu Dharma Acharya Sabha wanted the Government to choose one of them. On Wednesday, a rally would be taken out in Rameswaram. A rally in New Dehli on May 13 one in Bangalore on May 17 or 18 had been planned, he said.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, managing trustee of the Acharya Sabha, said there was no politics involved. "If the bridge is man-made, it is sacred to us. If it is God-made, it is more sacred."

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