CCPA discusses future of Sethusamudram project: Sources

The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which has representatives from key NDA constituents, is learnt to have discussed today the future of the Sethusamudram project, which many feel would damage the ancient 'Ram Sethu' bridge between India and Sri Lanka.
Sources aware about the development said that the government is unlikely to go ahead with the original alignment of the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP) in an effort to protect the 'Ram Sethu' or 'Adam's Bridge'.
They said the government would make its stand clear in the Supreme Court through an affidavit.
The meting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was attended by senior ministers part of the committee.

The project, which envisages dredging a channel across the Palk Straits, has hit a wall after protests over religious grounds relating to the proposed demolition of the Ram Sethu.
It aims to provide a shorter navigational route from the east and west coasts of India instead of circumventing Sri Lanka.
A claim made recently in a show on an American science channel that the 'Ram Sethu' is man-made and not natural had triggered a fresh debate on the issue.
The previous UPA government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the belief that the bridge was built by Lord Rama to reach then Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, as depicted in the epic Ramayana.