Sudama Setu

Sudama Setu સુદામા સેતુ
Coordinates	22°14′12″N 68°58′7″E / 22.23667°N 68.96861°ECoordinates: 22°14′12″N 68°58′7″E / 22.23667°N 68.96861°E
Carries	pedestrians
Crosses	Gomti river
Locale	Dwarka, Gujarat, India
Named for	Sudama
Characteristics
Design	pedestrian suspension bridge
Total length	166 m (545 ft)
Width	2.4 m (8 ft)
Piers in water	2
History
Engineering design by	PKS Infra Engineers Pvt. Ltd
Constructed by	Reliance Industries Limited
Construction begin	5 May 2011
Construction cost	₹ 8 crore
Sudama Setu Location in Gujarat

Sudama Setu is a pedestrian suspension bridge in Dwarka, Gujarat, India. It is named for Sudama, a childhood friend of Krishna.^[1]

Construction

A pedestrian bridge over Gomti river connects Jagat Mandir of mainland Dwarka and Panchnad or Panchkui Tirth on the island in southeast of it. The bridge was proposed in 2005 to boost tourism on the island. The island has religious as well archaeological significance. There are five sweet water well called Panchkui associated with five Pandava brothers of Mahabharata. Gomti river was crossed by boats till the construction of the bridge.^[2][3][4][5]

As Jagat Mandir is Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected site, the permission was needed for the construction of bridge. The Vadodara circle of ASI gave nod to the bridge in 2008.^[2][6] The ground breaking ceremony for bridge was held on 5 May 2011 by Gujarat Tourism minister Jaynarayan Vyas and Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani.^[7] The construction of bridge delayed due as ASI Delhi did not granted permit until 2013.^[8][9] The bridge was completed in February 2016.^{[10][4][11][12]}

Reliance Industries Limited, in collaboration with the Gujarat Tourism Department and Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board, built the bridge.^[4] The bridge costed Rs. 8 crores. It is named for Sudama, a childhood friend of Krishna.^[4] The bridge is 166 metres long and 2.4 metre wide having capacity of carrying 25000 to 30000 people an hour crossing on foot.^[4] The bridge is constructed with 40mm locked coil cable ropes provided by Usha Martin Limited.^[13]

References

1. Parimal Nathwani (5 September 2015). "Janmashtami and Teacher’s Day Coincides: Who could be bigger teacher than Krishna?". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
2. DeshGujarat (30 October 2008). "Suspension bridge to link Dwarka and Panchkua island". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
3. "Soon Sudama Setu to connect island to Dwarka temple". The Times of India. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
4. India (20 June 2015). "‘Sudama setu’ connecting Dwarka with Panchnad likely to be completed befor Janmashtami festival". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
5. "Sudama Setu to connect more tourists to Dwarka". dna. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
6. "Suspension bridge to Dwarka gets ASI nod". Indian Express. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
7. DeshGujarat (5 May 2011). "Rs. 9.5 crore Sudama setu project kicks off in Dwarka". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
8. "દ્વારકાની સુદામા સેતુ યોજના અધ્ધરતાલ, ધોષણા પોકળ સાબિત થઇ". www.divyabhaskar.co.in (in Gujarati). 30 May 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
9. DeshGujarat (13 October 2011). "Pending ASI approval delaying Sudama Setu project". DeshGujarat (in Latin). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
10. PTI (1 March 2016). "Construction of 'Sudama Setu' completed in Gujarat". The Economic Times. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
11. DeshGujarat (24 March 2015). "Sudama Setu bridge in Dwarka by July 2015: Minister in Assembly". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
12. DeshGujarat (21 August 2015). "In photos: Construction of Dwarka Sudama setu almost complete". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
13. "Usha Martin’s bridge cables in Sudama Setu, a cable suspension bridge in Gujarat". Usha Martin. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2015.