Being on a slippery ground on the controversial Sethusamudram project, the Congress is seeking a way out by favouring an archaeological study that would obviously delay a decision on the dredging of Ram Sethu and give a breather to the ruling party.“We are prepared for a detailed study, including an archaeological study. We do not want to bulldoze it. We have to convince the Supreme Court and ourselves,” AICC Media Cell chairperson Veerappa Moily told reporters on Thursday in response to a query whether the party would like to carry out dredging of the Adam’s Bridge. He said the Congress did not want to hurry through the project and would prefer a “cogent study”.Moily released a document prepared by the AICC’s Department of Policy Planning & Coordination (DEPCO) which reiterated that “Adam’s Bridge, which is also called Ram Sethu, is a natural formation comprising of a chain of naturally formed sand banks”.“All scientific agencies ranging from NASA to the Indian GSI as well as Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, indicate that the Adam’s Bridge/ Ram Sethu is not man-made but a naturally formed chain of sand banks,” said the document prepared by DEPCO headed by Moily. Tourism Minister Ambika Soni had earlier taken the same stand during the Parliament debate on this issue. She had also conceded that the Government did not have any direct inputs as the Archaeological Survey of India had not conducted any survey. The Congress document also sought to reject suggestions that other alignments should be considered. “The present alignment has been selected after carefully considering the environmental impact as well as the impact on fishing and the marine environment to ensure that the alignment is at least 20 km away from the Gulf of Mannar National Park. The Sethusamudram project envisages the dredging of a limited portion of 300 metres out of nearly 30,000 metres. And, therefore, the project cannot be considered as an act that will demolish the entire Adam’s Bridge.”
