The Indian prime minister will inaugurate a deep sea dredging project on Saturday, called the Sethusamudhram Shipping Channel Project, to remove sand stone on two stretches along the channel between India and Sri Lanka. The new channel will have a depth of almost 40 feet and a width of almost 1000 feet for two-way traffic. When completed, the project will allow allow ships to travel between India's west and east coasts without circumnavigating Sri Lanka, saving about 36 hours in travel time, and fuel costs. Environmentalists worry that the project will damage a sensitive marine ecosystem. Sri Lanka is concerned about the environmental impact, and is also said to be worried about the loss of monopoly by Colombo port on
container shipments in the region. See "India PM to launch dredge project," Leklapoodi Jagadheesan, BBC News, 7/1/05. (www.nsnet.com)