By IANS
Chennai : Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy Sunday dovetailed all popular concerns over the Sethusamudram – scientific, ecological, security and religious – at the launch of “Paalam” (Bridge), a film on dangers of continuing with the project.
M.R. Jayakrishnan has directed the 71-minute film, which lends voice to the concerns expressed on the much-debated project.
Citing statistics, Swamy slammed the project as “a danger to ecology and India’s defence”. He contested that nearly 95 percent of ocean-borne vessels have displacement weight exceeding 60,000 tonnes, which means only a few will benefit from the project.
“If this project becomes a reality, it will result in a Rs.3000 crore (Rs.30 billion) annual loss to the national exchequer and this amount will go up every year. This much is clear because the canal will have a depth of only 12 metres and it will be impossible for ships weighing more than 30,000 tonnes to cross it – meaning over 95 percent of the ships in the world cannot use it at all,” said Swamy.
Swamy claimed during the function that the chief of naval staff Admiral Suresh Mehta had expressed similar sentiments and had been ticked off by Union shipping minister T.R. Baalu “for speaking the truth”.
Taking up a religious theme, Swami said, “it is every Hindu’s duty to protect the ‘Ram Sethu’ because it means the religion’s renaissance”.
Swamy also had suggestions for the central government: “Instead of the canal, the government of India ought to create a 6-lane highway linking the ports of Kolkata and Tuticorin”.
The Janata Party president announced that a 200-page fact book on the project would be released next month.