Police arrest hundreds in
channel protest .
MADURAI, India (Reuters) - Indian police detained close to 600
protesters
as they demonstrated on Saturday against moves to start the dredging of a controversial sea channel through the island chain between India and Sri Lanka.
The detentions came hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Madurai, 460 km south of Madras, to lay the foundation stone of offices to administer the controversial $560-million Sethusamudram Ship Channel
project.
"No ships over Sethu -- not now, not ever," the
protesters shouted before they were bundled away by police in Madurai.
"They (the protesters) have been detained for breach of public peace and have not been charged with any criminal offence," a police officer told Reuters. Most of those held were fishermen and women.
"We will make all efforts to preserve our natural heritage while implementing this project so that everyone's livelihood is protected," Singh said before laying the foundation stone.
The idea of the channel was first conceived in 1860, about the same time as digging started for the Suez Canal in Egypt.
The planned channel, 12 metres deep, 300 metres wide and almost 90 km long, will cut through a chain of small islands known as Adam's Bridge that links south India to Sri Lanka.
When the project is finished, freighters sailing between India's western and eastern coasts will no longer have to detour south around the bottom of Sri Lanka, saving up to 400 nautical miles and 36 hours of sailing time.
Environmentalists say dredging of the seabed will mean dumping sediment in deeper water further out to sea. This and increased freighter traffic could harm marine life and threaten the business of thousands of fishermen in both countries.
Some 3,600 species live in a marine park in the area, including about 400 which are endangered.
"The project is certain to destroy the marine system and 3,600 known species of flora and fauna," Namrata Chowdhary, a Greenpeace official, told Reuters. Two Greenpeace activists were among the protesters detained.
Indian officials say the route is more than 20 km from the marine park and digging will be monitored to make sure marine life is not disturbed.
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