 | This article needs to be updated. (July 2015) |
 Minister Nitin Gadkari inspecting the Sethusamudram project site by Hovercraft | |
| Company type | Government of India |
|---|---|
| Industry | Canal Project |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Area served | Tamil Nadu, India |
Key people | Shri A. Subbiah, IAS chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust & Chairman and managing director, Sethusamudram Corporation Limited |
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (lit. 'Setu Ocean Shipping Canal Project') is a proposed project to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. This would provide a continuously navigable sea route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel would be dredged in the Sethusamudram sea between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, passing through the limestone shoals of Rama Sethu.
The project involves digging a 44.9-nautical-mile (51.7 mi; 83.2 km) long deepwater channel linking the shallow Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived in 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, it received approval of the Indian government in 2005.[1]
The proposed route through the shoals of Ram Setu is opposed by some groups on religious, environmental and economical grounds. Five alternative routes were considered that avoid damage to the shoals.[2][3]
- ^ Brunn, Stanley D. (19 March 2011). Engineering Earth: The Impacts of Megaengineering Projects. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 298–299. ISBN 978-90-481-9920-4. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ http://www.ivarta.com/columns/images/image_OL_070508_3.jpg 5 Alternative alignments without damaging Ramar bridge
- ^ "Image: lankan.jpg, (400 × 354 px)". nation.lk. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2015.