Author:
Publication: Yahoo News
Date: July 1, 2002
URL: http://in.news.yahoo.com/020701/61/1r1oa.html
A mythological bridge across the
sea from Rameswaram to Sri Lanka may become a reality if a proposal to
lay a road link between India and the island nation gets approval.
Already a team of expert Indian
engineers has decided to hold a preview meeting on August 31 with their
Lankan counterparts and discuss with them the feasibility of such a mega
endeavour.
If the project subsequently gets
the go-ahead, it will not be far in the future that a 40 km-long bridge
would stretch between Dhanushkodi near Rameswaram and Talaimannar in Northern
Sri Lanka (approximate distance being 23 nautical miles).
Such a bridge would be a masterpiece
of contemporary engineering that would add another dimension to the mythological
construction work by Lord Rama and his Vanara Sena (monkeys' army) as narrated
in the Ramayana, the celebrated masterpiece by Valmiki.
Leading engineer D Srinivasan, who
was a senior official with the Gamon India construction company which completed
the work on the three-km Pamban road bridge linking the mainland Mandapam
with Rameswaram island 14 years ago, said the new proposal would lead to
overall development of India by facilitating a land route for trade purposes
across the sub-continent.
"For every one tonne of consignment
that comes from Lanka, our country exports 13 tones. This being the case,
a road link between the two would also boost the prospects of Indian manufacturers,
especially those based closer to the island nation,'' he said.
The bridge would give a fillip to
temple tourism as Rameswaram, with its well-known ancient temple is a major
pilgrim centre. Srinivasan said the meet in Colombo would be a follow-up
to a deal signed between the two countries during Sri Lankan Prime Minister
Ranil Wickremesinghe visit to India.
