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Pamban Bridge 1 Pamban Bridge Pamban Bridge Pamban Road and Rail Bridge Official name Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge Carries 2 lanes of road traffic Crosses Palk Strait Locale Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu, India Coordinates 9°1656.70N 79°1120.1212E The Pamban Bridge (Tamil: பாமபன பாலம) is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. It refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means the latter. It was India's first sea bridge. It is the second longest sea bridge in India (after Bandra-Worli Sea Link) at a length of about 2.3 km. Inaugural Plaque The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) [1] and was opened for traffic in 1914. The railroad bridge is a still-functioning double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be raised to let ships pass under the bridge. The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but Indian Railways upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished Aug. 12, 2007. Until recently, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers. [1] About 10 ships cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers pass through the bridge every month. From the elevated two-lane road bridge, adjoining islands and the parallel rail bridge below can be viewed.

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Pamban Bridge 1

Pamban Bridge

Pamban Bridge

Pamban Road and Rail BridgeOfficial name Annai Indira Gandhi Bridge

Carries 2 lanes of road traffic

Crosses Palk Strait

Locale Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu, India

Coordinates 9°16′56.70″N 79°11′20.1212″E

The Pamban Bridge (Tamil: பாம்பன் பாலம்) is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram onPamban Island to mainland India. It refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarilyit means the latter. It was India's first sea bridge. It is the second longest sea bridge in India (after Bandra-Worli SeaLink) at a length of about 2.3 km.

Inaugural Plaque

The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m)[1]

and was opened for traffic in 1914. Therailroad bridge is a still-functioningdouble-leaf bascule bridge section that canbe raised to let ships pass under the bridge.

The railway bridge historically carriedmetre-gauge trains on it, but IndianRailways upgraded the bridge to carrybroad-gauge trains in a project that finishedAug. 12, 2007. Until recently, the twoleaves of the bridge were opened manuallyusing levers by workers.[1] About 10 ships— cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishingvessels and oil tankers — pass through thebridge every month. From the elevated

two-lane road bridge, adjoining islands and the parallel rail bridge below can be viewed.

Pamban Bridge 2

Pamban Bridge

As per chronicles of Kutch Gurjar Kshatriyacommunity, mentioned in their books, Theerection and construction of Pamban Bridgewas done by Mistri Manji Daya Wegad withLakhu Devji Vegad both of Anjar, VarjangHirji of Nagalpar and Gangji Narayan ofKhedoi. Together built the Railway linesand Pamban Bridge over creek ofRameshwaram to Pamban construction ofwhich they started in year 1887 andcompleted sometime in 1912 for SouthIndian Railway. While working on PambanBridge the Mistris Lakhu Devji Vegad ofAnjar and Gangji Narayan of Khedoi alsobuilt famous Temple of Neel-Mandir havingseven domes at Rameshwaram, constructionwhich, they started in 1899 and completed in about five years by 1905. After completion of bridge metre-gauge lineswere laid by them from Mandapam up to Pamban Station, from here the railway lines bifurcated into two directionsone towards Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km) terminatingat Dhanushkodi. The section was opened to traffic in 1914.[2][3]

The noted boat mail ran on this track between 1915 and 1964 from Madras-Egmore up to Dhanushkodi, from wherethe passengers were ferried to Talaimannar in Ceylon. The metre-gauge branch line from Pamban Junction toDhanushkodi was abandoned after it was destroyed in a cyclone in 1964.[4]

According to Dr Narayanan, the bridge is located at the "world's second highly corrosive environment", next toMiami, US, making the construction a challenging job. The location is also a cyclone-prone high wind velocityzone.[1] This Bridge consist of 143 piers and the centre span is a Schrezers rolling type lift span. It's 220 ft (67 m)long and each of 100 tonnes.

Rail Bridge from India Mainland to Rameshwaram

Location

The bridge spans a 2 km-straight betweenmainland and island and is the only surfacetransport link between the two. Themainland end of the bridge is located at9°16′56.70″N 79°11′20.1212″E.

Pamban Bridge 3

This bridge, constructed by the Indians over a hundred years ago and still in goodcondition, is a marvel of engineering. Until recently, the bridge formed Pamban

island's only link with the Indian mainland. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims onpilgrimage to the holy Hindu shrine of Rameswaram cross the bridge every day.

Rumours about the Bridge

There are rumours floating around regardingan incident that supposedly happened on thebridge. One version is reproduced below.The Pamban Bridge is situated in TamilNadu, India. At the entrance of the bridgeyou can see a picture of a weeping manholding some human body parts close to hischest.This bridge was built during the British rulein India and it was constructed in such away that the center portion of the bridgecould be lifted with the help of huge wheels,so that ships could easily pass under thebridge. On the bridge, roads and rail tracksare laid for trains and other vehicles topass...A middle aged man was appointed to roll the wheels up and down when ships arrive. Once he saw a train slowlyapproaching, while he was pulling back the bridge after a ship quietly passed beneath. He had to pull back quickly orelse there would be a fatal accident and thousands would have died.At that time his 9 year old son came with lunch. When he saw his father struggling with the wheels, he kept thelunch box down and started helping him to roll the wheels to put the bridge back. Suddenly his son's finger gotcaught inside the wheel and he started crying out. At this time if the father tries to save his son, the bridge could notbe put back on time. He had no other option but to ignore his son's cry. With all his strength he kept on rolling thewheels to down the bridge. As the wheels rolled on, his son slowly started slipping away into the huge machine.Tears rolled down his father's cheeks, but he ignored his son's cry. If he tried to save him, the train will surely fallinto the sea and thousands of people will die. Slowly the boy's whole body fell into the machine and his father couldhear his bones breaking one by one, until with a loud sound, his head cracked.The train with thousands of passengers slowly rolled on the rails, without knowing what had happened there.Though this man performed his duty honestly he lost his only loving son. With extreme lamentation, he pulled outhis son's body parts from the machine and held it close to his chest and cried bitterly.British Government honored him greatly and in memory of this incident they placed the picture at the entrance of thebridge.[5]

}}This story is highly scattered all around the internet although at various forum discussions it has been seen that theabove story is just story.[6][7] The bridge requires twelve people, six on each side, to manually operate its movingsections.[8] Also, there is no such picture at the entrance of the bridge. And neither is this story known to locals asfact or hearsay from previous generations. The story seems to have been entirely manufactured on the internet and tofeel some pride in being honest towards work. The earliest known version of the story appears as Christian story.The story attempts to draw a parallel between the father's alleged sacrifice of his son, and the sacrifice of the God insending his son Jesus down to Earth.[9] The story itself, created in 2003, was not original, and was based on anaward-winning 2003 Czech film, Most.

Pamban Bridge 4

References[1] The Hindu Business Line : Pamban Bridge to be pulled down for gauge conversion (http:/ / www. thehindubusinessline. com/ 2003/ 11/ 21/

stories/ 2003112101991700. htm)[2] Nanji Bapa ni Nondh-pothi published in Gujarati in year 1999 from Vadodara.It is a diary of Railway Contracts done by Mistris of Kutch

noted by Nanji Govindji Tank of Jamshedpur, complied by Dharsibhai Jethalal Tank. (This book was given Aank Sidhhi award by KutchShakti at Mumbai in year 2000.) Pamban Bridge Contractors: Built by Manji Daya Vegad & Lakhu Devji Vegad of Anjar & Gangji Narayanof Khedoi started works in 1887 for South Indian Railway. Also built Neel-Mandir at Rameshwaram : Page :29

[3] Shree Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya Samaj : A brief History & Glory of our fore-fathers :by Raja Pawan Jethwa. (2007). Section II: Mileagewise available Details of Railway lines laid.Pages:63 to 70

[4] Their sentiment to metre gauge train is unfathomable (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2006/ 07/ 17/ stories/ 2006071705960300. htm)[5] "Extra Extra !!!: A father's sacrifice - True Story" (http:/ / juliejacobe. blogspot. in/ 2008/ 03/ fathers-sacrifice-true-story. html). 26 March

2008. . Retrieved 2 July 2012.[6] http:/ / juliejacobe. blogspot. com/ 2008/ 03/ fathers-sacrifice-true-story. html#comment-4920949913774048459[7] http:/ / juliejacobe. blogspot. com/ 2008/ 03/ fathers-sacrifice-true-story. html#comment-4370380103850495959[8] "Bridge of memories - and to Rameswaram - reopens" (http:/ / www. hindustantimes. com/ News-Feed/ India/

Bridge-of-memories-and-to-Rameswaram-reopens/ Article1-241808. aspx). Hindustan Times. 11 August 2007. .[9] "Invigorating 'Pamban Bridge' – an undying story" (http:/ / in. christiantoday. com/ articles/ invigorating-pamban-bridge-an-undying-story/

2756. htm). Christian Today India. 7 July 2008. Archived (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20100324161051/ http:/ / in. christiantoday. com/articles/ invigorating-pamban-bridge-an-undying-story/ 2756. htm) from the original on 24 March 2010. .

External links• Barge cross Pamban rail bridge (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2009/ 09/ 08/ stories/ 2009090856630100. htm)• Strengthening of Pamban Railway Bridge (http:/ / www. thehindu. com/ todays-paper/ article519853. ece)..,

Article Sources and Contributors 5

Article Sources and ContributorsPamban Bridge  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=526162004  Contributors: 12pavan34, AHert, Aakashraj1990kash, Alcoved id, Ammodramus, Bijuts, Binoyjsdk, Brucevdk,CarTick, Chandan Guha, CharlotteWebb, Clt13, Cpbaherwani, D6, Darwinek, Docu, Flewis, Gene Nygaard, GrahamHardy, Grutness, Hardyraj, Hariehkr, Hemendra, Hugo999, Idleguy,IndianGeneralist, Indiancorrector, Jcb10, Jeffery Gentry, Jethwarp, Jklamo, JovianSnickers, Kalkibhagwan, Kanatonian, Kar403, Kings777, L.vivian.richard, Lkinkade, MBisanz, Magioladitis,Meghdootb, Mr Accountable, Mushroom, Neutrality, Outback the koala, Pearle, Prashantserai, Priyal vedpathak, Ravichandar84, Rdhinakar, Rich Farmbrough, Rockfang, Roland zh, S19991002,SDC, Samcobra, Saurabh.vinian, SchfiftyThree, ShakthiSritharan, ShivNarayanan, Shyamsunder, Srithern, Ssriram mt, Stepheng3, Tabletop, The Silent Contributor, Tjsnathan, TransporterMan,Vanniar, Vensatry, Vssun, 74 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Pamban Road and Rail Bridge.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pamban_Road_and_Rail_Bridge.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: ShakthiSritharanImage:Pamban Bridge Commemorative plaque.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pamban_Bridge_Commemorative_plaque.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: ShakthiSritharanImage:Pamban Bridge.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pamban_Bridge.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Sugeesh atml.wikipediaFile:Pamban Rail Bridge.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pamban_Rail_Bridge.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Rockfang, Roland zhImage:PambanBridge.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:PambanBridge.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0  Contributors: Original uploader wasRavichandar84 at en.wikipedia. Later version(s) were uploaded by Aavindraa at en.wikipedia.

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