The Supreme Court was on Tuesday informed by the petitioners opposing construction of the Sethusamudram shipping canal that the government failed to obey its order to conduct any archaeological study of the mythical Rama Sethu.

Petitioner’s advocate K K Venugopal said the Central government has failed to execute the order of the apex court that had directed the government to file a report on the bridge after conducting a study.

The region was the habitat of many rare marine species such as turtle, sea horses and it acted as a protective barrier to tsunami and cyclone, said advocate Krishna Venugopal, appearing for another petitioner.

Petitioners are unanimous in their arguments that proper scientific and archaeological study should be conducted before constructing the canal by dredging the Rama Sethu or the Adam’s Bridge between India and Sri Lanka.
The government had agreed to the suggestion of the apex court in September 2007. At least 74 kilometres of the 270 kilometres of the entire stretch would be dredged upto a depth of 39 feet and there was no scientific study by the authorities. “No risk assessment study was conducted in respect of its impact on the fragile environment,” Venugopal said.

Following an outcry led by the BJP and its allies, the apex court in August 2007 had imposed a stay on the dredging of the Rama Sethu portion of the Rs 2,087 crore project.

The ships from one coast to another circumvent the entire stretch of Sri Lanka to reach their destinations. With the construction of the canal, there would be faster movement of the ships, saving millions of rupees in terms of fuel and time.