Rameswaram: Don’t Just Desilt, Dredge Pamban Canal, Say Fishermen
Starting from the water area between the islands of Kurusadai and Singilitheevu, near Pamban, the Pamban canal runs for about 2 km: Reports
RAMESWARAM: Fishermen demand dredging of the Pamban canal, which silts up easily due to its location, to allow free and safe movement of ships.
Pamban port is one of the oldest and historically-significant ports in the country. Although there was a sea around Rameswaram in the 15th century, the Pamban canal was only wide enough to travel on horseback between Pamban and Mandapam.
Due to a major storm in 1480, the Pamban canal naturally widened between the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal. Furthermore, Pamban and Mandapam got separated by the Pamban canal, and Rameswaram became a separate island.
Starting from the water area between the islands of Kurusadai and Singilitheevu, near Pamban, the Pamban canal runs for about 2 km, crossing the Pamban Road bridge and the railway bridge.
The Pamban canal was first dredged in 1854, during British rule.
Since then, many storms, including the Dhanushkodi cyclone of 1964, have blocked the Pamban canal with sand, and its depth has now decreased to 2 m.
The Pamban canal, naturally located between the Gulf of Mannar and Bay of Bengal, is a silty area. Due to this, this area quickly silts up. The width of the canal at this point is 125 m and the maximum depth is 2.11 m.
Since the Pamban canal is filled with silt, it is difficult for ships to pass through the canal at certain times. Moreover, many times ships and boats have run aground and accidents have occurred due to their getting stuck in sand and rocks.
Only by dredging and deepening the Pamban canal by more than 10 m will commercial ships, weighing up to 30,000 tonnes, be able to pass through Pamban without going around Sri Lanka. This will greatly reduce the travel distance and time. Therefore, dredging the Pamban canal has been a demand for more than 50 years.
Union minister of shipping and land transport Nitin Gadkari who visited Pamban six years ago, inspected the area and said when the Sethusamudram project is implemented through the Pamban canal instead of the Sethu bridge route, this area will be dredged and make way for shipping. However, the project has not been implemented.
Meanwhile, under the Sagar Mala project, the Thoothukudi V.O. Chidambaram Port Authority and IIT experts have inspected and prepared a plan to dredge the area at an estimated cost of Rs. 630 crore and a project report have been submitted. It was said the work would start after approval was received. However, that plan was also shelved.
In this situation, the narrow path between Kurusadaitheevu, the mouth of the Pamban canal, and Kunthugal beach has now accumulated so much silt that even boats cannot pass through it, and the length of the beach has increased and the sea route has become narrow.
Following a request from fishermen and oceanographers, a plan was drawn up during the last DMK regime to remove the silt accumulated in the area and Rs. 9 crore was allocated. The silt removal work started last month after being stopped due to the elections.
But fishermen say that this is only a temporary solution and have said only if the entire area from the mouth of the Pamban canal to the mouth of the Pamban bridge next to Bay of Bengal is dredged and deepened, this area will be useful for shipping and fishermen.
Therefore, fishermen and social activists have demanded that the new state government pay serious attention to this and take action on a war-footing to dredge and deepen the area.
