PM inaugurates Signature Bridge in Gujarat: All about India’s longest cable-stayed bridge

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Cable-stayed bridge

With a total length of 4,772 metres (4.77 km), it is Gujarat’s longest cable-stayed bridge. There is one cable-stayed bridge in Bhavnagar but it is hardly a few dozen metres long. The Narmada bridge in Bharuch is 1.3 km long. “However, the Narmada bridge is an extra dosed cable-stayed bride, which technically differs from a typical cable-stayed bridge like Sudarshan Setu, as the latter’s spans can be longer,” a senior official said.

Connecting Bet Dwarka

After the Union Territory of Diu, located at Una coast in Gir Somnath, Bet Dwarka is the second largest island off the Gujarat coast. While Diu’s geographical area is around 40 sq km, Bet Dwarka is spread over 36 sq km.

Bet Dwarka island is part of Okha municipality and has a population of around 10,000. At present, the only means of transport between Bet Dwarka and mainland Gujarat is the ferry boat service running from Dwarka to Okha, the nearest point of the mainland.

The Signature Bridge will provide all-weather road connectivity to the island.

Religious tourism hub

A major pilgrimage and religious tourism spot, Shree Dwarkadhish Mukhya Mandir, a shrine of Lord Krishna, is located at Bet Dwarka. The island also has dozens of other Hindu temples, a gurudwara and some mosques. Thousands of pilgrims, mostly Hindus, visit Bet Dwarka for darshan at the Lord Krishna temple. Though some agriculture does happen, fishing is the main source of livelihood on the island, besides tourism activities.

Unique features

The bridge is supported by 32 piers, which support seven cable-stayed spans of 900 m length. This is called the navigation section, which will allow the movement of fishing boats to and from the harbour called Dalda Bandar.

Besides its 27 m wide carriageway, the bridge has walkways on either side with its pillars decorated with verses of the Bhagavad Gita and images of Krishna. Solar panels form the roof of these walkways.

Contractor was under a cloud

The bridge, constructed as a part of National Highway 51 that runs along the sea coast of Saurashtra, was built by the NH division of Gujarat Roads and Buildings department. The government had awarded the contract to S P Singla Constructions Private Limited.

The Panchkula-based firm was in the news last June after the under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj Ganga bridge in Bihar collapsed. SP Singla Constructions were constructing the bridge and it was the second time that it had collapsed within a year.

However, Gujarat government officials had then said that by that time, the Signature Bridge was on the verge of completion and “if something adverse comes up, we can think about it”.

Demolitions

In October 2022, Gujarat government had demolished over 100 structures, including homes, shops and religious structures, on the shoreline of Bet Dwarka. The police had said this was done because of a “threat to national security”.“

Several structures demolished were sea-facing premises where anyone could hide without being noticed. “Structures in Paaj area were right near the landing point of the under-construction Signature Bridge,” a senior officer had said. The majority of structures demolished belonged to the minority community.

Affecting livelihood

Ibrahim Kureshi, president of Dwarkadhish Tourism Ferryboat Association – an association of boat operators at Okha–said that around 170 ferry boats operate between Okha and Bet Dwarka at present. The one-way fare is Rs 20 and a boat takes about 10 minutes to reach Bet Dwarka from Okha.

“After the bridge is inaugurated, we apprehend a drastic fall in passenger traffic for ferry boat operators. Only those who want to enjoy a boat ride and watch seagulls will not take the bridge. This means, large boats will be out of business,” Kureshi said.

He added that if the government allows them to raise the oneway fare to Rs 50, they will get some cushion. “The Gujarat Maritime Board regulates fare…during a meeting with boat operators around two weeks ago, Devbhumi Dwarka collector told us that the government will allow hiking the fare to Rs 50,” Ibrahim said, adding half of the boats are owned by members of the minority community.

Alternative avenues

At the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in January, the state government had signed an MoU with a private firm for taking
tourists on luxury cruise rides to show them dolphins off the Okha coast.

Kureshi said some boat operators might try to convert their boats into special boats for dolphin viewing.