Fishing boats seized for taking tourists to Ram Sethu
PTI, The Times Of India
January 29, 2008
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Fishing_boats_seized_for_taking_tourists_to_Ram_Sethu/articleshow/2740439.cms

Four fishing boats have been seized by police for allegedly ferrying pilgrims and foreign tourists to show them the Ram Sethu or the Adams Bridge without proper permission.

The seizures were made on Monday following a complaint by the Fisheries Department that the fishermen were trying to cash in on the controversy surrounding Ram Sethu by ferrying tourists, including foreigners, without permission and safety equipment, to show the mythological bridge, believed to have ben built by Lord Rama, police said.

Various Hindu organisations have opposed dredging in the Ram Sethu area, part of the Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project, aimed at deepening the sea in the Palk Straits to create a navigable channel for ships.

A country boat was seized for transporting eight foreigners from Dhanushkodi to mid-sea offering them to show the bridge.

A big mechanised boat was impounded for ferrying 27 students from Pamban to some islands in the Gulf of Mannar.

The other two boats had ferried some pilgrims from Karnataka on Sunday.

The fishing licences of the boat owners had been cancelled and diesel quota permits seized by the Fisheries Department.