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Sethu canal project in Greenpeace soup
By Mahangu Weerasinghe
Worldwide environmentalist watchdog Greenpeace has decided to protest against the proposed Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project. Speaking from aboard Greenpeace's flagship campaign vessel The Rainbow Warrior docked in Chennai this week the ship's captain Cosmo Wassenaar expressed strong views against the project.

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a workshop about the development of the Sethusamudram Canal tomorrow at the CCC premises. The proposed Ship Canal will link the Indian Ocean with the Bay of Bengal, cutting through the Palk Strait and thus letting ships bypass the south of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile local environmental group, The Environment Foundation Limited (EFL) last week said it had not been granted adequate access to the Environmental Impact Assessment report on the Canal project.

The Foundation reportedly ran into these restrictions while working on recommendations to the committee of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The Sunday Times learns that the agency was forced to conduct the assessment of the EIA report using only the executive summary, which later had proved to be inadequate.

The EFL further states that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur, the agency entrusted with preparing the EIA report, reportedly has had no previous experience with marine projects of this nature.

The Sunday Times spoke to EFL Information Officer Vinod Moonesinghe, about the the measures that the organization might take, should the Sri Lankan government fail to take necessary action.

"There are a number of things which the EFL might do if the government does not respond," said Mr. Moonesinghe. "One of our options will be appealing to the International Court of Justice in the Hague," said the Information Officer.

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