![For Daily:14/09/16:Ramanathapuram:Mr Rajive Kumar, Secretary Ministry of Shipping at the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Hovercraft.near Rameswaram on Wednesday.Accompanied by officials,he inspected the Danushkodi sea area.Tamilnadu.Photo:L_Balachandar [with report]](https://th-i.thgim.com/public/migration_catalog/article14615608.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/14sep_ramnad_se%2BG3KIVFD6.3.jpg.jpg)
Rajive Kumar, Secretary, Union Ministry of Shipping, inspected the Danushkodi sea area in connection with the implementation of the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP).
Accompanied by Thoothukudi Port Trust Chairman S. Anantha Chandra Bose, who is the Chairman of the Sethusamudram Shipping Corporation (SSC), Mr. Kumar went up to the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL) in the Gulf of Mannar region in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Hovercraft on Wednesday.
“The basic purpose of the visit is to see the whole area, assess the ground situation, and the developments that have taken place. Basically, this is a familiarisation trip,” Mr. Kumar said in a brief interaction with reporters after the inspection.
He would not discuss alternative alignments to implement SSCP as the matter was before the Supreme Court. “Till there is some other direction from the court, the status remains the same,” he said.
However, sources said Mr. Kumar studied the possibility of implementing the project in alternative alignments, especially through Pamban canal without disturbing Ram Sethu.
