May 30, 2007

Rama destroyed a bridge he did not build - UPA's U turn : NT Bureau Chennai

In a sudden U-turn, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, which had so far claimed that there is no Ramar bridge, today submitted in the Madras High Court that 'Rama Himself destroyed the ancient bridge.'

The founder organiser of Hindu Munnani Ramagopalan and former Union Minister and Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy had filed separate writ petitions in the Madras High Court seeking to restrain the Centre from demolishing the Ramar bridge for the Sethu Samudram project.

When the petition of Ramagopalan came up for hearing, a counter was filed on behalf of Union Shipping and Surface transport secretary, Archeological Survey of India Director and others. In the counter petition it was stated that the Sethu Samudram Ship Canal project was launched only after hearing the views of the general public. Ramar bridge is imaginary and is not scientifically proved. To dredge the Adams bridge 230 crores have been spent and it is only a chain of sand shoals. It is is not Ramar bridge. "It had also been stated in the Tamilnadu government gazette that when Rama returned from Lanka he himself destroyed the bridge by shooting it with an arrow". Hence the petition should be dismissed, it was stated in the petition filed by the Union government.