India's most ambitious navigation project suddenly faces a hurdle — from Lord Ram.

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Dear haribhaktas, Please read this interesting article. Here's a little background about the place:(to the best of knowledge, please correct if any errors in the info) I happened to visit Shri Rameshwaram in June 2005 and went to Dhanushkoti the southern tip, where the two seas meet. It is a very auspicious place to bathe, perform sandhyavandana, pooja to the sacred place (good place to pickup maralu and offer it to Lord Vishwanatha in Kashi). You have to travel by Jeep to get there from Dhanushkoti which got swept by a pravAha or tsuanami(?) in the 60's(?). It was a very quiet place with just small fishermen colonies. Historically this is

the begining of the bridge to Simhala and was later destroyed (the begining part) by Shri Rama to prevent the rakkasas from entering from the other side. The so called Adam's bridge (not sure who named it) could be the remaining part of the bridge. The aerial pictures shows the clear evidence of a bridge under water and is in NASA's website. The govt of India decided to build the project desribed below and close that area for public in 2005. So is it the divine intervention? Please read below..... Regards, Sathya *********************************************************************************************** http://www.telegrap hindia.com/

/1070225/ asp/nation/ story_7438396. asp** *Ram snags India's Suez*OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT*Chennai, Feb. 24:* India's most ambitious navigation project suddenly facesa hurdle — from Lord Ram.A Tamil Nadu court has asked the Centre to investigate if a chain of islets,being dredged out under the Rs 2,427-crore Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project,is indeed the mythological bridge built by Ram's army of monkeys.The so-called Adam's Bridge — a series of sand-dune islets and shallowslinking India and Sri Lanka southeast of Dhanushkodi near Rameshwaram — islocally believed to be the bridge Ram built to invade Lanka and rescue Sita.It's to be dredged out completely to open up a direct route between theIndian east and west coasts, removing the need for ships to sail round SriLanka.But yesterday, a judge of the Ramanathapuram sub-court asked Delhi to forman

experts' committee, including geologists and archaeologists, to verifyclaims that Adam's Bridge is nothing less than "Ram's bridge".The judge, Mohammed Abudahir, however, declined to order an interim stay onthe dredging and fixed the next hearing for March 5.The two petitioners, advocate Kuppu Ram and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghfunctionary Swami Omkarananda, want the project stalled.The Centre's counsel has told the court that the government's survey did notreveal any artificial bridge under the shallow seawaters. But thepetitioners have claimed that satellite pictures taken by US space agencyNasa show an undersea, ancient bridge-like structure in the region.They have quoted certain scientists who believe the structure is man-made,and furnished centuries-old historical documents that make a similar claim.Other than the Adam's Bridge islets, the shallows of the Palk Bay are to bedredged out under the

project, which aims to create a 167-km channel, dubbedthe "Suez of the East", connecting the Palk Strait to the Bay of Bengal.The channel will shorten shipping routes by up to 424 nautical miles (780km) and sailing time by some 30 hours, saving fuel. India's import-exporttrade will save the Rs 1,000 crore a year it now spends in foreign exchangeowing to transhipment of cargo outside the country, through Colombo.However, the dredging of Adam's Bridge, which began a few months ago, hasbeen stalled by a series of accidents.First, the dredging vessel Duck-6 sank in the sea. It was replaced by theDredging Corporation of India's biggest dredging vessel, Aquarius, but itsspud broke.The 150-tonne Thangam was sent to retrieve the spud but its giant cranesnapped and crashed into the sea. With Aquarius under repairs at the Cochinshipyard, work has stopped."We believe that Hanuman is guarding the bridge," said

Kuppu Ram over thephone from Ramanathapuram.-- The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to donothing.-Edmund BurkeDharma Protects Those Who Protect DharmaDharmo Rakshati Rakshitah

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