Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Sethusamudram Canal Project” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Sethusamudram Canal Project

The Setusamundaram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) which envisages dredging a shipping canal that will connect the Gulf of Mannar with Bay of Bengal through the Palk Bay thereby providing a continuous navigable routes between the east and west coasts of India within its own territorial water is an ambitious project of Indian government. But environmentalists oppose this project. They say the project can cause harm to environment in Gulf of Mannar—a biologist’s paradise. Fisherman of the coastal districts of Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin who had earlier seen it as a dream project fear the proposed Sethsamundaram Canal will dispossess them of their traditional livelihood. The Tuticorn Port trust-the nodal agency for the project believes that the project would save time and fuel for ships, develop fishing harbours and minor ports and transform southern Tamil Nadu into an industrial hub.

The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur submitted a Techno-economic feasibility study and environmental impact assessment report for the project in July. 2005 for the canal. It also suggested an alignment for the canal. Accordingly the canal will originate from the Tuticorn harbour in the south and run through the gulf of Mannar, the Palk Bay and Palk Strait in the north and north east direction before joining the Bay the Bengal. In other words the canal will be dredged through the shallow waters of Adam’s Bridge and the Palk Bay. Its total length will be 152 km but it needs no dredging for 78 km in the Gulf of Mannar. The canal will be 300 m wide and 6 km long in the Adam’s Bridge area and another 68 km. long in the Palk Bay and the Palk Strait area. Its depth will be 12m to enable ships with a drought of 107 m to pass through. On March 13, 2004 after prolonged delay the Central Government headed by Vajpayee government gave a green signal for the multi crore projects. The cabinet committee on Economic Affairs approved the project on September 2, 2004 and announced the formation of Sethusamundaram Corporation to execute it. The Tuticorn Port Trust is the nodal agency for the project estimated to cost Rs. 2000 crores.

India does not have within its territorial waters. a continuous navigable route around the peninsula because of a shallow region called Adam’s Bridge at a depth of 1.53 meters in the sea between the Pambum island near Rameshwaram in TN and Tamilmannar in Mannar district of Sri Lanka. This sandstone reef impedes the movement of ships. As a result ports such as Kolkata, Paradeep Vishakhapatnam and Chennai on the east coast and

Mumbai and Kandla on the west coast are linked with Tuticorin by sea only by ships going around Sri Lanka. This entails additional distance of 400 nautical miles and time of 36 hrs.

The Setusamundaram Ship Canal Project proposes linking the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar on the east coast of India by creating a shipping canal. This project involves digging a 448 nautical mile long channel linking the Palk Strait with Gulf of Mannar.

After the Canal is constructed the distance between Cape Camorin and Chennai would be reduced to 402 nautical miles from the present 755. Further the canal would considerably reduce the distance between the east and the west coast with travelling time coming down by 36 hrs. It will also avoid navigation of ships around Sri Lanka thereby resulting in saving in fuel costs and standing charges associated with extra period of voyages. The canal would help make coastal shipping operations from the east coast to the west coast and vice versa more competitive.