Previously neglected and threatened of demolition, Ram Setu finally gets its due

Neglected, denied its historic heritage and even threatened of demolition, the Ram Setu is finally getting its due; set to be connected with the rest of India. On Monday, Indian Railways has approved the construction of a railway line on Rameswaram-Dhanushkodi section. The historic decision of Indian Railways in restoring the famous Ram Setu won a million hearts. Keeping in mind the convenience of millions of Ram Bhakts, the Central Government has also approved the construction of a new bridge in front of Pamban Setu. The estimated budget of both the projects is 458 crores.

The project sanctioned by the Indian Railways extends up to 18 kilometres from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi, which was washed away in the 1964 sea storm. A train too was swept away in the same storm and about 115 people were killed.

Indian Railways has announced that the historic Ram Setu will be connected with the rest of the religious and pilgrim sites of the Hindu religion. The Ministry of Railways has also approved the construction of a new bridge in addition to Pamban Setu for the convenience of the Ram Bhakts going to Rameswaram. The new bridge will be constructed from Mandapam to Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. The official said that both projects will be completed in a span of 4 years.

New Pamban Setu will be an example of an engineering marvel. The 63-meter-long portion of the bridge will lift vertically, along with the railway line, for the safe passage of ships and steamers. The two sides of the railway line and the rising portion will be tower controlled (European Technology). The materials used in the bridge will be of special quality and would not be degraded by rusting (caused due to air or sea water).

While Modi government is trying their best to revive Hindu pilgrimage centres, the former UPA government had not only denied the historic importance of the Ram Setu, they called it Adam’s (Imaginary) bridge. The authenticity of Ram Sethu has been confirmed by independent historical studies, and international organizations but Congress went one step further denying the very existence of Bhagwan Shri Ram.

Despite National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) studies published in a book which claimed that the Setu could be man-made, Ambika Soni, the then Minister of Culture replied to a question in Rajya Sabha (August 14, 2007) and made false claims that no archaeological studies had been made with respect to Ram Setu. The UPA government had also proposed the Sethusamudram project which would have resulted in the demolition of the Ram Setu.

However, Subramanian Swamy challenged the project and had saved the Ram Setu. The then UPA government took the case into Supreme Court, claiming there is no such thing as a Ram Setu and a green signal should be given to the Sethusamudram project. At the time of hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, Dr Swamy argued that government of India hasn’t considered other routes and also the faith of millions of Hindus was involved in the matter. Justice Agarwal, who was looking into the case, granted an immediate stay against the demolition of Ram Setu and Dr Swamy emerged victoriously & thus the demolition was avoided. The fact that the UPA government tried its best to deny and demolish the Ram Setu is a testimony to their anti-Hindu stance.