Click to play videoRameswaram: The Gulf of Mannar is home to some of India's most pristine biodiversity with over 3,000 species of marine life and endangered corals.
They are all under threat from the dredging of nearly 82 million tonnes of sand which will be dug up from the ocean bed to make way for the Sethusamudram channel.
In Rameswaram, religious sanctity is far more important than the environment.
“The Sethu is the most sacred place. How can they destroy it? We will not allow it,” says National Council Member of BJP, Murli.
But in the Gulf of Mannar there's more than sentiment at stake. The marine national park has corals, sea cucumber and over 400 species of fish.
The Sethu project is aimed at widening the ocean bed and the consistent churning of sediment will smother these coral reefs.
The increase in shipping traffic will inevitably result in an increase in oil spills and marine pollution.
It is these coral reefs that act as natural barriers in case of impending disasters like a Tsunami and the fishermen in the area allege that once the reef is destroyed, the natural barrier will be broken and the impact of the Tsunami will be imminent.
“They will dredge up the sands, corals everything will be destroyed,” says a fisherman.
Is Ram Sethu a mythical entity or a place of religious importance?
For the Muslim, Hindu and Christian fishermen these questions seem meaningless. What is important is that with the construction of the Sethusamundran fishing channel, their livelihood will be destroyed forever.
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