Financial Express , Monday, November 08, 2004

Correspondent : Staff Reporter

The Rs 2,000 crore, 260 km long, 300 metre wide and 14.5 metre deep Sethusamudhram ship canal project, that envisages a navigable channel from the Gulf of Mannar to the Bay of Bengal through the Palk Bay, has already become a subject of controversy in India. Environmentalists and NGOs have warned of the colossal damage the project would cause to the sensitive ecology that is unique to the region. A few weeks before, this column had emphasised the need to exercise utmost caution in taking the project forward, as those responsible for approving and implementing the project have developed vested political interests in its early implementation and completion. The DMK, an influential partner in the Congress-led coalition government at Delhi and which handles the Union shipping ministry, sees political gains from the project. With those concerned about the project not getting a chance to voice their fears in the public meeting held for discussing the project, and DMK ministers displaying huge enthusiasm, there is a worry that the project would be pushed through, no matter what its implications. This fear doesn’t exist in India alone. Sri Lanka is worried over the fallout the project would have on the island nation. The government there has formed an inter-ministerial committee to ascertain the effect of the canal on Sri Lanka. It has refrained from overt comments for fear of starting a diplomatic row. Nor would the Sri Lankan government like to antagonise the DMK at a time when it is locked in a battle of wits with the LTTE separatists. In fact, when a Sri Lankan minister voiced his concern over the project, the immediate reaction of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, to the shock of the Lankan government, was that it was a‘Sinhala conspiracy to thwart the project.’ The project, it is believed, was a subject of discussion when Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi last week. Sri Lanka’s concerns, articulated by NGOs such as Environmental Foundation Ltd, appear serious. Unfortunately, these have not been picked up by the Indian media. These include possible inundation of parts of coastal Sri Lanka, sea erosion, climate change and drought. According to them, the Adam’s bridge — a shallow ridge between Pamban island on south-eastern coast of India and Talaimannar in Sri Lanka — acts as an effective natural breakwater. As a result, the east and west Indian coastal currents flow around Sri Lanka. If this ridge is dredged to make way for ships, flow pattern of currents would change and they could enter the calm Palk Bay area, with disastrous consequences. The water level varies in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal. The breaches the canal would create will result in water flowing from the latter to the former, aided by the changed current flow pattern. This could result in inundation of a large tract of coastal land, from Puttalam northwards, including the Jaffna peninsula, over a period of time. Also, the experts warn, winds, salinity, temperature and moisture flexes in the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are crucial to the Sri Lankan climate. They say cloud formation due to ocean convection will be hindered, unless the sea surface temperature is above 27 degrees Centigrade. The sea temperature is currently close to that level. The dredging of Adam’s Bridge, and the consequent entry of the cold east and west Indian currents, would bring down the temperature, thereby altering Sri Lanka’s rainfall pattern. They do not rule out the possibility of persistent drought. The change in the current pattern, they warn, would also make many of the ports and harbours in the island nation vulnerable, as their design is based on present oceanography. Other concerns include water in Jaffna peninsula turning saline, adverse impact on marine life and large-scale sea erosion. The Lankan concerns are economic as well. The project would have an adverse impact on international traffic using the Colombo port and the envisaged ports at Galle and Hambantota. Today, it is said that 60% of Colombo Port’s business is Indian feeder cargo. If this shifts to Indian ports on the East Coast after the project, the Sri Lankan economy would be affected. NGOs in Sri Lanka say the island nation has not been consulted over the project. The environmental impact assessment report done by National Environmental Engineering Institute, Nagpur, does not mention the impact, if any, on Sri Lanka. The reason could well be that the ship canal would be dredged on the Indian side of the maritime boundary. But the proximity of the island to the path of the canal makes it a stakeholder. The Indian government must take the Sri Lankan government into confidence and sort out their concerns, as much as they have to in the case of stakeholders in India, such as environmentalists and fishermen, before proceeding with the project. The impression is that India is going ahead with the project without bothering about the likely fallout on Sri Lanka. At a time when relations between the two countries are blossoming, having come out of an era of mutual suspicion, this project should not be allowed to put the clock backwards.

SOURCE : Financial Express, Monday, November 08, 2004