Adam’s Bridge

Adam’s Bridge, chain of shoals between Mannar Island, off the northwest coast of Sri Lanka, and Rameswaram Island, off the southeast coast of India. The “bridge” is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry, and many of the shoals are less than 4 feet (1 metre) deep; thus they seriously hinder navigation. Dredging operations were begun in the early 19th century but did not succeed in maintaining a channel for any vessels except those of light draft.

Geologic evidence suggests that Adam’s Bridge represents a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka. Multiple theories exist regarding the formation of the bridge. One theory suggests that the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar were once part of the Kaveri River basin. Due to long-term tectonic movements, the outline of the region including Adam’s Bridge formed, and the particular shapes of these landforms contributed to coral growth. The coral trapped sand, which led to a discontinuous shoreline that is now called Adam’s Bridge. Another theory suggests that longshore currents dumped sand in a more or less straight line, and coral then accumulated over these sand deposits. Studies by the Geological Survey of India have dated the coral at Rameswaram Island to 125,000 years ago. The sea level in the region is believed to have oscillated significantly, and the sand deposits may have formed during one such period of low sea level when the sea bridge was exposed. Other studies suggest that Adam’s Bridge was formed only about 3,500 years ago.

Traditionally, Adam’s Bridge is said to be the remnant of a huge causeway constructed by Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana, to facilitate the passage of his army from India to Sri Lanka for the rescue of his abducted wife Sita from the demon king Ravana. Rama was aided by a vanara (monkey) army in building the bridge, and they were together supervised by the engineer Nala. The Indian end of the bridge is known as the Pamban end, and it lies on Rameswaram Island (also called Pamban Island). While the bridge is a natural formation, some observers think that it has the appearance of an artificial construction near the Pamban end, leading many to take this as proof that Rama built it. According to Muslim legend, Adam used this bridge to cross to Adam’s Peak, in Sri Lanka, atop which he stood repentant on one foot for 1,000 years. The term Adam’s Bridge appears to have arisen during the time of al-Bīrūnī (973–c. 1052), the bridge being called Set Bandhai (“Bridge of the Sea”) in earlier Arabic writings. Records suggest that the bridge may have been whole and traversable on foot until 1480, when a breach was made by a storm. Further breaches caused by storms have occurred over the years.

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The earliest known dredging operations date to 1838. Multiple studies were conducted by the government of India, both in the British and independent eras, to determine how to use the channel for navigation and thus avoid the long route around Sri Lanka. A proposal for a canal made in 1860 by a British naval officer was discarded because of the high costs involved, as well as resistance to invest in anything that would increase the efforts needed to protect the canal against the monsoon. Most proposals have focused on the Indian end or have sought to build a canal through Rameswaram Island itself. In 2005 the government of India approved the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project, which aimed to dredge the shallow ocean floor to create a shipping channel across the Palk Strait. But the project generated opposition because of concerns that opening the channel would potentially cause India’s thorium deposits along the coast to be lost as well as increase risk due to tsunamis. Other opponents of the project include right-wing political parties, to whom the bridge has religious significance because of its association with Rama.