The Controversy Surrounding The Ancient Bridge Built By Lord Rama And The Vanaras!

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The Controversy Surrounding The Ancient Bridge Built By Lord Rama And The Vanaras!
In 1804, a British Cartographer, named the reef formations that connected the mainland of India and Sri Lanka as Adam's Bridge in one of his maps. Early Islamic sources seem to indicate that Sri Lanka was the precise location where Adam of the bible fell to the earth. The place where he supposedly fell was called as Adam's peak. It is said that Adam crossed this bridge and entered India from there. Indians of course have a much older connection with this formation of rocks. FloatingstonesofShriRamSetu0.png The ancient Indian epic, Ramayana, mentions of a bridge that was built across the sea to reach Lanka. Nala, who is said to have engineered this bridge supposedly used rocks that could float on water. Indians call this bridge Rama Sethu, the bridge of Rama. Currently this claim is under dispute. For several centuries this epic story was believed to have been a fact and it stood beyond any doubt. However, all that changed when the Sethusamudram project was proposed. The Sethusamudram project proposed that dredging the rock formations and creating a canal for the passage of ships could greatly reduce the cost of shipping to the South East Asian shores. At present ships coming from the west need to go around Sri Lanka to get there. The controversial Sethusamudram project has pitted people against it by stating that this formation is not an artificial bridge but rather a reef formation that was always there. Their chief argument is the lack of any scientific evidence. The Indian epics mention in detail about the construction of the bridge. Several important ports that exist even today, are mentioned in the texts. Believers argue that this amount of detail cannot be put forth if there wasn't a shred of truth in it. Just to make things interesting, there is also a conspiracy theory floating around the internet. Sethu conspiracy theorists argue that the Sethusamudram project is a bid to loot India's Thorium reserves. India's eastern coast is supposedly very rich in Thorium deposits. This Thorium, they say, could ensure that India becomes a fully nuclear & clean energy capable country in the future. People on the Sethu side of the debate are going so far as to trying to go so far as to discredit and deny the existence of any person named Rama. They refuse to see the emotions and sentiments of people attached to this issue. To top it all, a temple at Rameswaram has a huge boulder with 'Rama' written on it. The miraculous boulder is completely afloat in a tank of water. People come from far and wide to witness this miracle. Can this be the evidence that proves the truth in the epics? 1196861545_floating_stone_250 Conspiracy theorists see this as an attempt to clear out any available Thorium deposits before people take notice. The truth of this matter is unknown for now. The religious significance notwithstanding, the Rama Sethu is an important icon of our cultural heritage. For centuries people have been attached to the place emotionally. How can destroying this important piece of our culture for the sake of supposed 'convenience' ever be justified? What is your take on this? 'Progress' or Heritage?