Ram Setu: VHP on war path, road blockades across India

IN THE NAME OF GOD: Agitators protest in Delhi against the demolition of Ram Setu.

Citizen Journalist Avinash Agrawal sent these pictures of VHP protests at Delhi's Akshardham flyover

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New Delhi: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is conducting a nation-wide road blockade on Wednesday to oppose the government's proposal to make a waterway through the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka.

The VHP says the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project would cause the demolition of the so-called Ram Setu, which finds mention in the epic Ramayana.

The VHP is organising a three-hour chakka jam covering highways and major bridges across the country.

They have blocked traffic on the Western Expressway in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Haryana's Karnal district, Agra, Chandigarh, Jammu, Indore, Patna and at 20 flyovers in the Capital.

In Indore all schools have been closed in anticipation of violence. Protestors also clashed with police in many areas.

Earlier, General Secretary of VHP Orissa unit Gouri Prashad Rath had said that it was a mistake on part of the erstwhile NDA government to sanction the Sethusamudram project as it cannot be completed without demolishing the ancient Ram Setu.

The “sacred Setu” should not be touched as it is associated with sentiments of Hindus, he had said.

To a question as to why the Sangh Parivar was silent when the project was sanctioned, Rath had said that they were not aware that Ram Setu would fall a 'victim' to the move. "As soon as we realised the consequences, VHP and other organisations openly opposed it."

The opposition to the project was not political but "the Hindus are opposed to demolition of the Ram Setu," he added.

Traffic alert in the Capital

The police say traffic is likely to be disrupted at the following locations in Delhi: Shakti Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Sector 6 Dwarka, Ring Road near Lajpat Nagar, Mukarba chowk, Magolpuri flyover, Raja Garden crossing, Nangloi chowk, Khajoori chowk, Liberty cinema, Anand Parbat-Sarai Rohilla flyover, Shastri Park crossing, New Delhi Railway Station, Green Park-Yusuf Sarai crossing, Nizammuddin flyover, Akshardham temple, Vikas Marg, old Yamuna iron bridge, Ashok Vihar, Kadkadooma flyover, Vikas Marg and Madhuban Chowk.

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