The Polk Strait is located in the Indian Ocean between India and the northern tip of Sri Lanka. It connects to the Bay of Bengal in the northeast and the Bay of Mannar in the southwest. The width is 55-137 km, its depth is from 2 to 9 m, and its length is 150 km. It was named after the English figure Robert Polk. The southern end is dotted with shallow reefs that form the Rama Bridge and small islands off the Jaffna peninsula. Most ships avoid the treacherous waters of the strait. The ferry train crosses the strait (20 miles/32 km) between Dhanushkodi (India) and Talaimannar (Sri Lanka).
Indira Gandhi Bridge
Also known as Pamban Bridge. This is a cantilever bridge across the Strait of Polk to India. It boasts of being India's first sea bridge, connecting Rameshwaram Island to the mainland.
The two-lane road next to the bridge allows for a clear view of the railwaythe bridge and its amazing lifting mechanism that allows ships to pass under it. Only one train crosses this bridge.
Consisting of 143 pillars, each 220 feet long and weighing 100 tons, the bridge is one of the most spectacular places in Rameshwaram. The scene shown in the film "Chennai Express" was filmed at the Pamban Bridge.
Navigation in the Strait
The way to India through the Polk Strait, where there are many reefs, is quite difficult. The shallow waters and limestone shoals of the strait make it difficult for large ships to pass, although fishing boats and small boats engaged in coastal trade have sailed its waters for centuries. But large ships also have to travel to Sri Lanka, and in 1860, for the first time, the government of British India was asked to build a navigable canal across the strait. A number of commissions are studying this proposal to date.
Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project
This is a proposed project to create a shallow water navigable route between India and Sri Lanka. Its creation would provide a profitable shipping route around the Indian Peninsula. The channel will be dredged into the Setusudram Sea between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, passing through the limestone deposits of Adam's Bridge (also known as Rama's Bridge, Ram Setu and Ramar Palam).
The project involves digging a 44.9 nautical mile (83.2 km) deep water channel connecting the Polk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar. Conceived in 1860 by Alfred Dundas Taylor, herecently received approval from the Indian government.
The proposed route across the reefs of Adam's Bridge is rejected by some groups on religious, environmental and economic grounds. Five alternative routes were considered that prevent damage to the shallows. The most recent plan is to dig a channel roughly in the middle of the straits to provide the shortest and least maintenance course. This plan avoids the demolition of Rama Setu.
The value of the channel through the Strait of Polk
The need for such a waterway is as follows:
- The waters between India and Sri Lanka are shallow and not very favorable for massive ships, and maritime trade relations between the two peoples often depend on the possible supply of goods.
- Ships that sail from the west coast of India to the east coast are currently forced to bypass Sri Lanka due to the narrow, shallow, non-navigable Gulf of Mannar. The companies that own them are expected to contribute to the cost of building the canal.
- It is estimated that the canal will reduce voyage times, fuel use and therefore costs.
- It is worth considering the possibility of creating a large number of jobs, which at the same time will increase incomes and improve the status of people.
- The location of the proposed canal was based on strategic military importance.
