Updates:
- Evidences for human activity in Rama Setu: NASA’ clarification (4 Aug 07)
- Ram Sethu not man made, says NASA (29 Jul 07)
NASA debunks SSCP’s false allegation
By: Dr S Kalyana Raman Phd,
Director, Sarasvati Research Centre,
Kerala: At the outset, I thank the Earthweb team of NASA for the prompt clarification which should set right the misinterpretation and misreporting of their opinion.
I reproduce below the response dated Aug. 2, 2007 received from JSC-Earthweb, NASA in my query of July 28, 2007 (attached).
In reference to the report attributed to Chairman, Setusamudram project (now on 2 months’ leave), the response states:
" To interpret our response as a scientifically rigorous conclusion as to the nature of the Palk Strait islands is both a misinterpretation and misreporting of our response, and is inappropriate considering the limitations of our data."
For More Details on the Correspondence with NASA
http://kalyan97.wordpress.com/2007/08/01/500/
Source: http://sarvesamachar.com
Ram Sethu not man made, says NASA
July 29, 2007
The NASA has confirmed that Ram Sethu, the group of islands between India and Sri Lanka believed by Hindu activists to have been built by Lord Ram, is not a man made structure.
Earthweb, a NASA division that hosts astronaut photography of the earth, has said there is no evidence of any human activity in the Sethu.
This was in reply to an e-mail sent by the Sethusamudram Corporation, which has been facing protests against a project to dredge a shipping channel between India and Sri Lanka.
”Our office supports only astronaut photography of the Earth. The chain of small islets connecting India and Sri Lanka are real geographical features that have been mapped for centuries,” EarthWeb said.
”Chains of islands form a variety of natural geological processes and their occurrence is not evidence of any human activity,” it said.
An official of the Sethusamudram Corporation had mailed Earthweb on the satellite image of Adams Bridge.
”In India a burning question is going on whether this bridge is man made or not. Religious fundamentalists insist that the bridge was once constructed by human beings in order to invade Sri Lanka long ago.
”Some say it is not man made and the area is covered by shallow water and the sediments under the water appear like a narrow bridge.
”The third group say that the Bridge is nothing but a peak of a large mountain that has submerged,” the Email said and asked for a clarification on the issue.
A copy of the Email was circulated to the media during a press conference addressed by N K Reghupathy, Chairman, Tuticorin Port Trust and Chairman and Managing Director, Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd on Saturday. (With PTI Inputs)
(Earlier NASA was of the opinion that Ram Setu is manmade but today it expressed totally opposite view. The proofs of Ram Setu’s existence are present in the holy text Ramayana and Hindus have complete faith in it. It doesn’t require any certificate from NASA. – Editor)
Source: http://www.ndtv.com/
NASA mail: Sethusamudram chief asked to go on leave
Chennai: The government has asked the chairman of the Sethusamudram Corporation Ltd (SCL) N K Raghupathy to go on leave.
Raghupathy was asked by the Shipping Ministry to go on two-months leave on Saturday night within hours of him telling reporters about an email from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) regarding the Adams Bridge, through which the canal will be cut.
The NASA has said that the structure of sand bars and rocks situated in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, known as Ram Sethu or Adam’s Bridge in maps, is a natural phenomenon and not a man-made structure, Raghupathy told the media, claiming he had received an e-mail from the Johnson Space Centre.
"This evidence contradicts claims that said it (Ram Sethu) was created by humans," Raghupathy told reporters.
"The chain of small islets connecting India and Sri Lanka are real geographical features that have been mapped for centuries. Chains of islands form a variety of natural geological processes and their occurrence is not evidence of any human activity," he said quoting the email.
"My sharing this communication with the media is without prejudice to the contentions made in yet to be disposed off litigation concerning the Ram Sethu controversy in the Supreme Court," Raghupathy added.
Several petitions against the controversial Sethusamudram ship canal project are pending in the Supreme Court. Environmental groups and NGOs have filed most of them.
The petitioners say the canal connecting the Bay of Bengal to the Indian Ocean will destroy the region’s marine ecology and fisheries.
Raghupathy, who has headed SCL since it was set up two years ago, said on Saturday night that he wanted to go on a month’s leave as he was ‘overworked.’
Raghupathy is also chairman of the Tuticorin Port Trust, the nodal agency for implementing the Sethu Samudram project. He handed over charge of both the units to Chennai Port Trust chairman K Suresh.
Source: http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14501252
