A bridge for one and all?
A bridge for one and all?
The Sethusamudram saga refuses to end. Now, as Mint reports today, Muslims in Tamil Nadu have laid claims over the bridge, if only to relinquish them for the sake of nation-building.
The claimants are a front of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the party that strongly favours the project, which aims to create a sea channel by destroying Adam’s Bridge. This is continuation of politics by religious means. It’s an attempt to make parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, who oppose the project, look parochial. At the same time, it’s an effort to inject life into a dying project. The “claims" and their being “given up" come a day after ministerial meetings on the project, reinforcing suspicion that it’s a political ploy.
It is also a reflection on the mindset of politicians who chase quixotic projects: they are pretty cussed. It doesn’t matter to them if the project makes little economic sense or poses environmental dangers—it must be followed through, for prestige is at stake. It’s time the Sethu project was appraised soundly.
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