Govt backs its Suez canal through "god's bridge"

By Krittivas Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government is sticking to plans to bore a major new shipping lane, officials said on Thursday, despite objections by Hindu groups who say it would destroy a rock and sand ridge built by a god.

Billed as India's Suez Canal, the $560-million Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project is expected to reduce ship journeys between India's western and eastern coasts by up to 36 hours by creating a channel between the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka.

Ships now endure a long detour around Sri Lanka.

India's main opposition party, the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been trying to exploit the controversy for political gain ahead of elections due next year, and opponents have asked the Supreme Court to stop the scheme.

The government, which has been unsettled by protests and criticism over the issue, will file its response to the objections on Friday but will not back down.

"We will tell the court to allow us to build the shipping lane," a government minister said on Thursday after a special cabinet committee meeting reaffirmed support for the project.

"At least work can start on the non-controversial portions of the project."

Hindu religious texts recount the life of Lord Ram, a Hindu god said to have commanded his army of monkeys to build a bridge to Sri Lanka thousands of years ago so he could rescue his kidnapped wife, Sita.