BJP Maharashtra to participate in protect Ram Setu agitation in Delhi

BJP expects Ram to deliver again
18 Dec, 2007, 0055 hrs IST, TNN

MUMBAI: If the Congress-NCP government in the state is out to woo minorities, the BJP is playing a game in which it is very good at — fanning religious sentiments to gain political mileage. The saffron party on Monday unveiled its version of majority-appeasement by announcing participation of around one lakh BJP workers in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s ‘protect Ram Setu’ agitation in Delhi on December 30.
State BJP president Nitin Gadkari said at a press conference here on Monday that the BJP whole-heartedly supported the VHP’s call to protest against the Sethusamudram project, and would be sending a lakh party workers to attend the rally to be held under the aegis of Ram Setu Bachao Sangharsh Samiti.

Senior state BJP leaders held a meeting to chalk out a strategy for the party’s participation in the VHP agitation, which the Sangh Parivar is trying to model on the Ram Janmabhumi movement of the nineties. Mr Gadkari said the party was not against a bridge establishing a sea-link between India and Sri Lanka but the destruction of Ram Setu or Adam’s Bridge, a chain of shoals between Sri Lanka and India, which is believed to have been built by Lord Ram. Mr Gadkari said the party will do whatever possible to thwart this plan. The BJP leader pointed out that even environmentalists and scientists have cautioned against this.

The VHP has called for a nationwide agitation to oppose the Sethusamudram project. BJP sources said the Parivar was looking at the meeting in Delhi as the starting point of a mass mobilisation campaign. “We would prove the sceptics wrong, who claim that religious faith and symbols of Hindu civilisation don’t anymore strike a populist chord. The Congress has once again got its political reading wrong by proposing this plan, and we will prove that a massive agitation can still be waged on this plank,” said a BJP strategist who attended the meeting.

http://tinyurl.com/2dfzsy

Rama Setu: DMK minister prays at Rameswaram temple

DMK minister offers prayers at Rameswaram temple

Rameswaram (PTI): A senior DMK minister in Tamil Nadu on Monday offered prayers at the famous Sri Ramanathaswamy temple.

The visit of Information Minister Parithi Ilamvazhuthi to the temple evoked media interest as it was by a top minister and senior party functionary of DMK.

The Minister, who had come with his family members, stayed in a private lodge here and worshipped the main deity Ramanathaswamy and Goddess Parvathavardhini in the morning, sources said.

He also visited the Sri Sankara Mutt where he offered poojas to his forefathers, temple officials said.

Ilamvazhuthi also took a holy dip at the “Agni Theertham” to pay homage to his ancestors, they said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200712171932.htm

Rama Setu: S’ilaa yatra in Mysore

RAMA SETHU SHILA YATHRE ENTERS CITY

Mysore, Dec. 16 (RB,SC &BRS)- Activists of Sri Rama Sethu Rakshana Vedike led the Sri Rama Sethu Shila Yathre which came to city today.

The Yathre in the city and the district will go on for three days. The Sri Rama Sethu Shila Yathre in city began at 10 am from Ashtaishwarya Siddhi Vinayaka Temple in J.P. Nagar.

An idol of Sri Rama, measuring about twelve inches, placed in a cut 50 liter mineral water can along with cutouts of the Lord Rama were paraded like a tableux.

The Yathre is being carried out throughout the country to create public awareness against the Central Government’s Sethu Samudram Project.

Muralidharan, President, Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP), Mysore District, told media persons gathered at the Ashtaishwarya Siddhi Vinayaka temple in J.P. Nagar said that along with the Yathre a Sri Rama Sethu Raksha Yajna would also be performed at all taluk centres.

Kumar, Secretary, VHP, Mysore District, former Corporator M.L. Chandrashekar and Trustees of the temple were present.

The activists chanted Vande Mataram; Sri Rama Sethu Rakshaneyaagali and Bolo Bharathmaataaki Jai, as they moved on the main thoroughfares of the city.

There was no major security except a lone Policeman who keeping his colleagues updated about the ongoings of the Yathre.

The Yathre reached Mysore today after touring Mandya, Chama-rajanagar and Hassan districts.

The Yathre will proceed towards Ramaswamy Circle at 3 pm, Ballal Circle at 3.30 pm, Shanthi Sagar Circle at 4 pm, Vivekananda Circle at 4.30 pm, Ramakrishnanagar Circle at 5 pm, Vijaya Bank Circle at 5.30 pm, Maruthi Temple, Gangotri Layout at 6 pm and Vijayanagar Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple at 6.30 pm.

The Yathre will visit Yelwal, Hinkal, Siddalingapura, KamanaKerehundi, Jayapura Hobli and Varuna Hobli, tomorrow.

The Yathra will visit Ittigegud at 9 am on Dec. 18, Siddhartha Nagar at 9.30 am, Gayathripuram at 10 am, Udayagiri Ganapathi Temple at 10.30 am, Bhagwan Suryanarayan Temple, Rajiv Nagar at 11 am, Prasanna Ganapathi Temple, N.R. Mohalla at 12 noon, Sri Rama Temple, Rajendranagar at 12.30 pm and reach R.S.Naidu Nagar at 1 pm. In the afternoon it covers Rajendra Nagar Circle at 3 pm, Hanumanthanagar Anjaneya Temple at 3.30 pm, Ganapathi Temple, Hudco Layout and Somanatha Temple at 4 pm, Mandi Mohalla Sree Talkies circle at 4.30 pm and will reach Kote Anjaneya Temple, Mysore Palace at 5 in the evening.

http://www.starofmysore.com/main.asp?type=news&item=15172

US Forums blame Sonia Gandhi for trying to blow up Rama Setu

While US Forums focus on the hurt caused to sensibilities of 900 million Hindus by trying to blow up Rama Setu, DMK supremo advises the youth wing to start campaigning for Setu Channel project which is a project disaster.

Why doesn’t he advice a campaign for setting up a Marine Economic Zone in Tamilnadu coast on both sides of Rama Setu and the Pamban channel to benefit 20 lakh Tamilnadu marine people? The MEZ will  increase the foreign exchange earnings from export of Tamilnadu marine products from the present Rs. 2000 crores per annum to Rs. 10,000 crores in the next two years. That will be constructive advice to the youth from the 84-year old leader.

k

US Forums blame Sonia Gandhi for trying to blow up Rama Setu

Dec. 16, 2007

Sonia’s UN address invites Indian protest

Report by Narain Kataria

Under the banner of the Forum for Gandhi Heritage (“Forum”), a very powerful protest demonstration was successfully mounted in front of the United Nations in New York on October 2 by more than 400 passionate activists representing the Mahatma Gandhi International Foundation, the Indian American Intellectuals Forum, the Indo Caribbean Council, the Kashmiri Task Force, the Brahmin Samaj, and many other Indian community organisations. …In a full page advertisement in The New York Times, dated October 6, the Forum blamed Sonia Gandhi for her involvement in the UN Oil for Food Scam, offending sensibilities of 900 million Hindus by trying to blowing up Rama Sethu, an ancient Hindu heritage monument, and instigating anti-Sikh riots that burnt alive 3,000 Sikhs.

http://narainkataria.blogspot.com/2007/12/sonias-un-address-invites-indian.html

DMK asks Centre to resume work on Sethusamudram project
16 Dec 2007, 2205 hrs IST,PTI

TIRUNELVELI: The DMK on Sunday asked Centre to take steps for early completion of Sethusamudram project while terming the BJP, Hindu Munnani and the AIADMK as “anti-Tamil forces” for opposing the project which would generate a lot of employment opportunities in the state.

“We condemn the efforts of BJP, Hindu Munnani and AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa to prevent the beneficial project. Centre should take appropriate steps for the early completion of the project,” the DMK youth conference said in a resolution here.

The Supreme Court had stayed dredging work on the Sethusamudram project near the Palk straits following a plea by the Janata party president Subramaniam Swamy and some other organisations that the dredging would destroy the ‘Ram Sethu’ believed to have been constructed by Lord Ram to cross to Sri Lanka.

Significantly, the DMK youth wing conference has not passed any resolution on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, signalling that it had distanced itself from the supporters of the banned outfit, LTTE.
Recently, a controversy broke out over Karunanidhi eulogising LTTE political leader Tamilchelvam who was killed in a Sri Lankan air raid.
Several parties, including the Congress and the AIADMK had been complaining of increasing activities of the LTTE in the state in recent months and called for stern action by the state government to contain it.

The conference asked the Centre to take appropriate action to enable Indian Tamils in Malaysia secure “equal rights” as enjoyed by other communities there.

http://tinyurl.com/22dpcn

Karunanidhi hints at larger role for Stalin

R. K. Radhakrishnan

Chief Minister calls for youth movement on Sethu project

TIRUNELVELI: Hinting at a larger role for Local Administration Minister M. K. Stalin in the government, the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said he was aware of the expectations of the people in this regard.

“Your expectations will come true. We will announce shortly when this will happen,” the Chief Minister said at the conclusion of the two-day Youth Wing conference of the DMK.

Two themes

Mr. Karunanidhi confined his address on Sunday evening to two themes: one, advice to Mr.Stalin and two, the need for a youth movement on Sethusamudram project.

Mr.Karunanidhi said that it was not merely enough for a son to say that he would follow the path set by his father. This was the easy part, he told his son, Mr. Stalin.

“I am sure you will tread that path,” he said, adding that one evidence was the manner in which Mr. Stalin conducted the youth meet here.

It was because the DMK had faith in him that he was given the charge of the youth wing, Mr. Karunanidhi said.

On Saturday, speaking after the evening sound and light show, poet Vairamuthu had said that both Mr.Stalin and his brother M.K. Azhagiri should consider themselves to be two hands of a clock. One would always be faster while another would be slow. Referring to this, Mr.Karunanidhi said that he did not care how the hands moved as long as the clock showed the time correctly.

Elaborating, Mr.Karunanidhi said that the larger goal was to ensure that the party discharged its duties towards the people well; individuals did not matter.

Setting the agenda for DMK youth for the next year, Mr. Karunanidhi said that there was a huge misinformation campaign on the Sethusamudram project.

“You should start tomorrow,” he told the youth, adding that they should visit each village and take with them scientific proof that the project was sound. Only then would the people be convinced, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/17/stories/2007121757940100.htm

Hindu activists paint Lord Rama with blood to protest against Sethu Samundram project

December 16th, 2007 – 7:35 pm ICT by admin -

Bhopal, Dec 16 (ANI): Activists of the Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan have donated blood to make painting of Lord Rama to protest against the construction of the Sethu Samundram Canal Project.

The painting using blood as medium is intended to show the anguish of the Hindu community.

“We have expressed the pain we have felt regarding Ram Sethu. If one can give blood (for the cause) he can shed it as well,” said Kailash Tiwari, painter and convener of Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan.

The painting shows the soldiers of Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman carrying stones for the construction of the bridge.

They vowed to protect Ram Setu at any cost.

“This is a message to those who are opposed to Ram and the ones concerned with the project that they should relinquish the idea of destructing the bridge or they will have to face the consequences,” said Devendra Singh Rawat, a leader of Bajarang Dal.
Few months back, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, a self claimed atheist, had said the existence of Lord Ram was a fallacy as tall as the Himalayas.

His comments had irked Hindu groups over the controversial SSCP.
The project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic for ships moving from Arabian Sea to Bay of Bengal.

The Hindu groups have been opposing the 560 million dollars project, saying it would destroy the ‘holy’ Ram Sethu, a 48-kilometre chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka. (ANI)

http://tinyurl.com/2zfr2d

Rama s’ilaa ratha yatra: Ulhasnagar

Saturday, December 15, 2007

राम शिला रथ यात्रा

देश भर मे जन जाग्रति के लिए रामसेतु शिला रथ यात्राए, श्री राम सेतु रक्षा मंच ने आयोजित की है।

राम कथा मे उल्लेख आता है कि पानी मे तैरने वाले पत्थरो से रामसेतु का निर्माण हुवा था।

रामेश्वरम मे आज भी पानी पर तैरने वाली शिलाएं मिलती है। ऐसी ही पानी पर तैरने वाली राम शिलाओ की रथ यात्रा ग्राम ग्राम मे निकाली गई। जिस प्रकार १९९१ मे ग्राम ग्राम मे राम शिला पूजन किया गया था, उसी प्रकार रामसेतु शिला पूजन का कार्यक्रम बनाया गया है। ये कार्यक्रम २१ नवम्बर से ११ दिसम्बर तक पूरे देश मे होगा।

ऊपर दर्शाए चित्र उल्हासनगर केPosted by हरीश ओमप्रकाश शेवकानी at 4:18 AM

http://ramsetu1.blogspot.com/2007/12/blog-post.html

Rama Setu: Will the inquiry cover 10 Janpath’s role?

Probe into Setu issue finds ASI officials guilty

Press Trust of India

Thursday, December 13, 2007 (New Delhi)

An inquiry by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found two of its officials prima facie guilty of not carrying out government instructions in the filing of the controversial affidavit on the Setu Samudram issue in the Supreme Court.

A report of the internal inquiry into the issue conducted by ASI Director General Anshu Vaish was recently submitted to the Secretary, Culture, a senior official of the Culture Ministry said.

He said a formal departmental inquiry will now be carried out, which will cover the entire case and not just the role of the two officials – Director (Administration) Chandrasekhar and Assistant Director (Monuments) V Bakshi – who were earlier suspended following a preliminary probe by the ASI DG.

A chargesheet will be issued to the two officials and they will be asked to submit their explanation in the matter, the official said.
The suspension of the two ASI officials, meanwhile, was revoked yesterday and they were asked to resume duties with immediate ffect.
”The ASI officials have been reinstated as it is a procedural requirement. You cannot keep someone suspended for more than three months,” the official said.

The two ASI officers were put under suspension on the orders of Culture Minister Ambika Soni on September 14, shortly after the controversy over the affidavit broke out.

The ASI DG was asked to submit a report on the matter, including an explanation on her own role in the fiasco.

Later, Vaish was asked to conduct an inquiry into the issue and submit her report to the Secretary, Culture.

Vaish submitted her report to the Secretary, Culture last week, based on which a decision was taken that a formal departmental inquiry will now be launched into the matter.

The ASI affidavit submitted in the court, which was later withdrawn, had triggered a major political storm by stating that there was no historical or scientific evidence to prove the existence of Lord Ram.

http://tinyurl.com/27s4zz

Rama Setu: Go for MEZ more profitable than Setu Channel

Rama Setu: Go for MEZ more profitable than Setu Channel

MEZ more profitable than Sethu Project

Deccan Chronicle, Chennai, Dec. 14, 2004

A Marine Economic Zone (MEZ) along the Palk Straits and Gulf of mannar will bring in unprecedented economic prosperity for more thaqn 2 million traditional fishermen in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, according to Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, former executive, Asian Development bank. A study done by him for more than three years has found that the MEZ would bring more economic and social development than the controversial Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project.

India’s foreign exchange earnings through the export of marine products in 2006-07 was Rs. 8,363.53 crores, “More than 25 percent of this earning, or over 2,000 crores was made by exports from Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Thuthookudi and Kanyakumari districts,” said Dr. Kalyanaraman in his concept note.

Dr. Kalyanaraman, a specialist in development economics, said MEZ was distinct and different from the proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZ). “While the SEZs lead to displacement of people from fertile agricultural lands for setting up industrial megapolis, MEZs are conceived as cooperatives of small fishermen and small-scale marine product processing units on the long coastline of the country,” he pointed out. Dr. Kalyanaraman said MEZ was meant for using marine resources while SEZ replaced cultivable land to promote industry. “It does not involve displacement of any existing industry.”

http://www.dc-epaper.com/deccanchronicle/Web/DCChennai/Article/2007/12/14/011/14_12_2007_011_005.jpg

Rama Setu: book in Tamil released

December 13, 2007

http://www.hindujagruti.org/news/out/images/1197565444_ram-setu-book-released.jpg

Tracing history: L. Ganesan (centre), Bharatiya Janata Party State president, receiving the first copy of “Rama Setu” brought out by Rameswaram Ramsetu Protection Movement, from S. Kalyanaraman, national president of the Movement, at the BJP office in Chennai on Tuesday. D. Kuppuramu, national secretary, is seen in the picture.
Points from Press-note

1. Rama Setu links not only the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Bay but also the minds and sentiments of about one billion Hindus the world-over. Rama is our nation’s identity. There is no history or culture of Bharatam, without Rama. This is why, Mahatma Gandhi called his vision, Rama Rajyam.
2. Every day reports appear and people are talking about the adverse consequences of the Central Setu channel project on Rama Setu and on livelihood of coastal people.
3. In this situation, there has been a demand for a compilation of the truths and evidences on the issues involved. This booklet, “Rama Setu” fulfils this demand.
4. This booklet presents many perspectives related to Rama Setu. Opinions of many scientists of many disciplines and experts are highlighted in this booklet. In the courts and to the Govt. committee, over 8000 pages of evidences were submitted and this booklet presents a succinct summary of these documents. Recognizing these truths and respecting the sentiments of people, Rama Setu should be protected. Rama Setu should be declared an ancient monument of the nation and Rameswaram should be declared as a divyakshetram.
5. Government should abandon the project which is NOT feasible from an engineering/economic point of view, a project which adversely impacts on national security, a project which destroys the eco-resources of the ocean and the base of livelihood of marine people living on the coastal regions.
6. Protecting the natural endowments and wealth of the ocean, providing new avenues for improving the livelihood of marine people, a sustainable development programme should be initiated by establishing Marine Economic Zones (MEZs). Projects for the MEZs should be formulated by the Central Government in consultation with the people involved and experts. These projects will improve employment opportunities and provide for economic development of Tamilnadu.
7. This booklet, Rama Setu, will have served its purpose if such projects are implemented, making a revolutionary break for economic development to achieve a prosperous and developed nation.

Source:http://kalyan98.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/rama-setu-book-in-tamil-released-dec-11-2007/

http://news.hinduworld.com/click_frameset.php?ref_url=/index.php&url=http://www.hindujagruti.org%2Fnews%2F3576.html

Hindus, Muslims join hands against Setu channel project

Hindus, Muslims join hands against Sethusamudram Project

December 13th, 2007 – 6:58 pm ICT by admin -

Varanasi, Dec 13 (ANI): People belonging to the Hindu and the Muslim communities offered prayers here for protection of the Ram Setu.

They said that the mythological bridge was under threat by the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

While radical Hindu groups have been spearheading the agitation, prayer meeting, though attended by a handful of volunteers, was the first time Muslims rallied against the project.

“We believe that our revered Paigambar (Prophet Mohammed) went to Sri Lanka through the Ram Sethu. There is also a mausoleum dedicated to him in Sri Lanka. Both Hindus and Muslims should work together to save it (Ram Setu),” said Mohammed Shamim Ahmed, a resident.

Hindu groups have been opposing the project, saying it would destroy the ‘holy’ Ram Sethu, a 48-kilometre chain of limestone shoals that once linked Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu to Mannar in Sri Lanka.

According to the Central Government, research has shown that the Ram Setu was a series of sand shoals created by sedimentation, but according to Hindus the narrow link, also known as Adam’s Bridge, was built by Lord Rama.

The project has also sparked protests by other groups including conservationists and local fishermen who say the dredging will mean dumping sediment in deeper water further out to sea.

The 560-million dollar project will dredge a channel in a narrow strip of sea between India and Sri Lanka, reducing distances and cutting costs for freight traffic.
India plans to go ahead with the project in seas off its southern coast despite protests by various groups.

Dredging for the project began in 2005 and the channel — 12 metres deep, 300 metres wide and almost 90 km long — will provide a crucial link between the Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar.

When the project is finished, ships sailing between India’s western and eastern coasts will no longer have to go around the south of Sri Lanka, and are expected to save up to 36 hours of sailing time. (ANI)

http://tinyurl.com/33tv83

Rama Setu: scrap setu channel, create MEZ

Dec. 12, 2007, Chennai:

Press interview of Dr. Subramanian Swamy

To develop the marine industry, Gulf of Mannar-Palk Strait should be declared a Marine Economic Zone.

Marine people in the zone should be provided new fishing vessels equipped with sonar technology and other technologies, apart from new housing schemes.

For economic development of Tamilnadu, a coastal railway line may be established between Thuthukudi and Chennai. Between Madurai and Kanyakumari, a six-lane highway should be set up. There should be a new airport in Thuthukudi in the name of VUC (Va Vu Ci) — V. U. Chidambaranar.

Setu channel project is a disaster. For the sake of this project, a zone supporting many aquatic flora and fauna, coral ree3fs, Rama Setu, the ancient monument should not be allowed to be desiccated.

This Setu project will devastate the marine products industry and devastate the lives of 5 lakh fishermen and their livelihood.

Dinamani, 13 December 2007

http://tinyurl.com/38kc5t

STATEMENT OF DR.SUBRAMANIAN SWAMY, PRESIDENT OF JANATA PARTY MADE IN CHENNAI ON DECEMBER 12, 2007
 
1.                 The Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project[SSCP] is now doomed because the four main reasons:
First, the Environment& Forest Ministry had in 1999 recommended to the Ministry of Surface Transport that the then proposed project should be “given up altogether” because it is an environmental disaster. The NEERI whose 1999 Report was relied on by the Environment Ministry had also  recommended that no channel alignment should be chosen that required “blasting” with explosives of coral rocks since that would destroy marine life.
 
2.                 Second, the SSCP also requires banning of all fishing activities, thus destroying the traditional fishing activities of 500,000 persons in the Tamil Nadu coast.  This is unacceptable at any cost.
 
3.                 Third, the SSCP is an economic disaster which has been hid from the public by fudging the data on time and fuel saved by ships using the channel. A re-working of the data shows the SSCP will make a substantial loss of crores of rupees from the first year itself.
 
4.                 Fourth, the National Remote Sensing Agency of the Ministry of Space under the Prime Minister has categorically stated, as has the Geological Survey of India Report, that the Rama Setu is ancient and was constructed during the Ramayana period. Hence, it qualifies to be an Ancient Monument of national heritage, and cannot be damaged in any way under the Ancient Monument and Archeological Sites & Remains Act[1958]. This means that the SSCP is not permissible under the law and is an illegal project.
 
5.                 Yet Mr. T.R. Baalu, the present Shipping Minister is misleading the public by daily issuing a statement that the SSCP will be completed by November 2008, when in fact on current trends, the SSCP is suffering from time and cost overruns. Moreover, the government-appointed so-called Eminent Persons Committee on SSCP is thoroughly and openly biased. Its Chairman Dr.Ramachandran, the present VC of Madras University, has been photographed garlanding the TN CM Mr. Karunanidhi when the latter sat on a fast on October 2 this year, to protest Supreme Courts orders on the SSCP including the granting of a stay.  Hence the Committee report will be rejected in Court as vitiated by bias.   
 
6.                 I therefore suggest that the SSCP be scrapped, it’s sunk costs to date be recovered by attaching the properties of T.R. Baalu for telling lies to the nation, and getting the project sanctioned by fraud and falsehoods.
 
7.                 Instead, I suggest we develop fast rail connections between Thuthookudi and Chennai along the coast, a modern airport named after V.O Chidambaranar, and a six lane Highway connecting to Kanyakumari and Madurai. The entire Palk Straits and Gulf of Mannar be declared a Marine Economic Zone [as enclosed note by former Asian Development Bank official Dr.Kalyanaraman has prepared].  

12/12/2007 15:57
SRI LANKA
A “second tsunami” hits Sri Lankan fishermen
by Melani Manel Perera
Fishermen’s rights groups complain about the fate of one of the most marginalised social groups in the country. The government’s development policies favour the tourist industry and prefer agreements with large foreign companies to exploit the country’s waters. This is pushing more and more small scale fishermen into utter poverty. Whilst the government is building highways and hotels, thousands of families are still surviving in temporary shelters. Colombo (AsiaNews) – A “second tsunami” has hit small fishermen in Sri Lanka, one of the country’s most marginalised social groups. Since 26 December 2004 when the tsunami struck the coastline of the country, another tsunami-like tragedy has hit them; it involves official indifference, red tape, multinational fishing interests and the tourist industry. Three years after the disaster thousands of people are in fact still living in ramshackle conditions, whilst the government is building highways and hotels and planning commercial fishing harbours.Various NGOs and the Catholic Church have denounced the tragic situation, but many have already given up the struggle. Even many of those involved in reconstruction have had to leave over the past year for lack of building permits and land.But the National Fisheries Solidarity Organisation (NAFSO) and the World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP) are among the groups that continue to voice the concerns of Sri Lanka’s fishermen at the national and international levels respectively.Post-tsunami programmes elaborated in Colombo expect free market forces to take care of reconstruction. They tend to promote the tourist industry at the expense of coastal communities who now find themselves displaced once again.Under current rules housing cannot be built in a 300-metre buffer zone along the coast. This has imposed heavy costs on local fishermen in terms of transportation, fuel and equipment. They received what is tantamount to a coup de grace when foreign fishing fleets were authorised to exploit Sri Lankan waters through joint ventures with the government. On top of that the government has increased the size of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) where the state can exercise special rights in exploration and marine resource use. Last but not list fish imports from the region have cut prices so much that many local fishermen can sustain the competition.In addition to the marine fisheries Sri Lanka’s fishing industry includes coastal and inland aquaculture. Together they employ some 200,000 fishermen and their families in the country. Out of these some 150,000 are small scale fishermen. Another 30,000 work in deep sea fishing vessels as crew members. The other 20,000 are inland fresh water fishermen. Over all some 700,000 people depend on the fishery sector for their livelihood in a country where the annual per capita consumption of fish is around 14 kilograms. Meanwhile in the capital Colombo alone some 1,300 families are still living in the temporary shelters after losing everything in the 2004 tsunami.On the east coast situation is even worse since the government has failed to grant land to build new housing. After years waiting many NGOs have thus been forced to leave without completing their plans.

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11020&size=A

Rama Setu: ASI affidavit fall-out, finding scapegoats, Sonia Gandhi tries to escape chargesheet

Rama Setu: ASI affidavit fall-out, finding scapegoats, Sonia Gandhi tries to escape chargesheet

Shame on the Central Govt. that they should make two officials of ASI the scapegoats.

The real culprits are Ambika Soni and Sonia Gandhi (aka Antonia Maino of Luciano). It is clear that the ASI affidavit could not have been submitted to the SC without clearance from the supreme of the UPA government, Sonia Gandhi.

The person to be chargesheeted should be Sonia Gandhi.

Sonia and PM should not only apologise; they should quit the office of profit that they hold.

Sri Rama needs no proof in any forum. He is the very embodiment of dharma, vigrahavaan dharmah and is enshrined in every heart of every hindu, every Indian, every Bharatiya everywhere.

The Central Government led by Hon’ble PM Manmohan Singh will do well to scrap the Setu channel project and announce, in lieu, a Marine Economic Zone (MEZ) for Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait with a target to increase the foreign exchange earnings of the marine people from the present Rs. 2000 crores per annum to Rs. 10,000 crores per annum in the next 2 years.

This MEZ will make Bharatam the vallarasu (superpower).

k

Sethu: ASI finds 2 officials guilty, to chargesheet them

Amitabh Sinha

Posted online: Thursday, December 13, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST

New Delhi, December 12

An internal inquiry by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has found two of its officers prima facie guilty of not carrying out government instructions, which led to the filing of the controversial affidavit in the Supreme Court on the Sethusamundram project in September.

The two officers—Director (Administration) Chandrasekhar and Assistant Director (Monuments) V Bakshi—had been suspended following the revelation that ASI had failed to carry out some corrections in the affidavit as suggested by the Culture Ministry.

The officers will now be issued a chargesheet and a formal departmental inquiry will be instituted into the matter, a Government source told The Indian Express. “A decision has been taken to initiate administrative action against the two officers,” the source said.

Incidentally, their suspension orders were also revoked on Wednesday and they were asked to resume duties with immediate effect.

“All the papers have already been collected from them and it has been ascertained that they are not in a position to interfere with the inquiry proceedings,” the source said.

The two officers were suspended on September 14, a day after the controversy broke out.

The ASI affidavit had created a major political storm by questioning the existence of Lord Ram while arguing that the Adam’s Bridge in the sea water separating India and Sri Lanka was a natural formation.

The portion in the affidavit that had come under attack said the “contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, Ramcharitmanas by Tulsidas and other mythological texts, which admittedly form an important part of ancient Indian literature, cannot be said to be historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters, or the occurrence of the events, depicted therein”.

It was later learnt that top bureaucrats of the Culture Ministry had deleted the phrase “to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the characters, or the occurrence of the events, depicted therein” before sending it to the ASI.

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