Click to play videoNew Delhi: While the political controversy rages CNN-IBN finds that the security implications were not even considered before the Setu project was started. The navy and the coast guard were not even consulted.
The hard-sell on the Sethusamudaran Project also mentions that it would link up the Navy's Eastern and Western Fleets, reducing mobilization time in an emergency.
Sailing from Vizag to Kochi would be down from 33 to 15 hours. But it seems the advantage has been overstated.
“Presently sail at speeds between 15 and 20 knots but sailing in restricted, shallow waters of the canal would reduce speed to six knots,” said strategic analyst Commodore Uday Bhaskar.
A more serious security concern would be the freedom of movement that the canal would give to the LTTE.
“One cannot rule out the possibility of the LTTE wanting to inflict some damage to ships transiting through the canal,” said Captain Balakrishnan.
The LTTE has proven naval capability. Surprisingly, the navy and the coast guard have not been consulted about the security implications.
“The kind of inter-agency co-ordination and evaluation that should precede this kind of project does not seem to have been done,” said Bhaskar.
Sethusamundram does not have the same strategic significance. Security experts are urging a serious cost-benefit analysis.
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