Pamban Bridge

Pamban Bridge is considered to be the second longest sea bridge that is build on the Palk Strait. This railway bridge enables to connect the town of Rameswaram to mainland India and rest of the country. Moreover, the Pamban Bridge is referred as the cantilever Railway Bridge and Road Bridge by the people in the surrounding areas. It is important to know that the bridge was covered under the South Indian Railway Project. Formerly known as Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge, the Pamban Bridge holds a length of 2.3 Km (2345 metres). The beautiful bridge is developed with sufficient elevation and architecture.

The government authorities started the construction in 1887 and finally completed in 1912. After the completion of the bridge, the workers were ordered to construct the Neel-Mandir Temple with several domes in the Rameswaram city. Few records have estimated that nearly 18,000 cft of crushed metal stone, 5000 tonnes of cement and 2600 tonnes of steel were used for the construction of the railway bridge. The “Khurai” families from the Kutch region in Gujarat were brought for the excavation and execution work for the Pamban Project. Further, the Pamban Bridge has a double leaf bascule section  which enables the ships to easily pass under the bridge.

On August 12th 2007, the Indian Railways took great initiative to upgrade the bridge for broad-gauge trains. The completion of the project enabled the ships to travel faster and reach the destination within a short period. Some of the ships that travel through the Pamban Bridge include coast guard ships, cargo carriers, fishing vessels, oil tankers and much more.

The Pamban Bridge is located in the cyclone-prone zone and therefore it may cause serious threats during the cyclone period. It is believed that the bridge stands at the “world’s second highly corrosive environment” next to Miami. Recently, the railway bridge received minor damages when a naval barge collided with the bridge structure.

You will hear a lot of rumours about the Pamban Bridge from the people located in the surrounding areas of Rameswaram. One of the popular rumors that created a great shock happened during the British rule in India. At the entrance of the Pamban Bridge, you will see a picture of a man holding human body parts close to his chest, the picture of which was developed by the British Government to honor a worker who lost his son in the bridge. The British authorities appointed a worker to roll the wheels up and down when the ships arrive. One day, the train was slowly moving and the worker pulled the bridge after a ship quietly passed beneath.

It is the responsibility of the worker to pull back the bridge immediately or else it would create a fatal accident. As he was pulling, his son came and helped his father to do the work fast. Suddenly, the son’s finger caught inside the wheel and he started to cry loudly. The worker was left with no other option and he was forced to roll the wheels to bring down the bridge. It was a worst moment for the father to see his son getting crashed in the huge machine. However, the people in the train were unaware of this  incident that took place in the Pamban Bridge. After sometime, the worker struggled hard and pulled out his son’s body parts from the machine. This incident was flashed in all the newspapers and websites.