Dredging work in Pamban canal in full swing near Rameswaram.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Intensive dredging work is under way at a cost of ₹9.5 crore in the Pamban sea canal to ensure the uninterrupted movement of ships and motorboats.
Pamban port is one of the oldest and most historically significant locations in India. The Pamban canal was naturally formed between the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait due to a massive cyclone that occurred in 1480 CE.
The Pamban canal spans about 2 km, starting from the waterbody between Kunthukal and Krusadai Island near Pamban and passing through the Pamban road and rail bridges. The canal has a width of 125 metres and a maximum depth of 2.11 metres.
During the British colonial period, the Pamban canal was dredged for the first time in 1854 for a length of 4,400 feet. It was dredged again following the Dhanushkodi cyclone in 1964, according to official sources. At present, the depth of the Pamban canal has decreased to less than two metres.
As the Pamban canal is filled with silt, ships and motorboats face difficulty crossing it at scheduled times, and vessels frequently get stuck in the sand, leading to accidents.
Consequently, dredging the Pamban canal has been a long-standing demand.
In this situation, the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board awarded a tender to a private firm to remove the accumulated silt and deepen the canal.
Accordingly, a tender worth ₹9.5 crore was awarded, and the private firm is carrying out intensive silt removal work in the Pamban canal.
For this purpose, a dredger has been stationed in the Gulf of Mannar off Kunthukal near Pamban, and sand removal work is being carried out round the clock.
A dredging pump inside the vessel is positioned in the canal to suck up the underlying silt mixed with water and transport it to the shore through iron pipelines.
Of the 3,500 metres of canal contracted for dredging, around 2,500 metres has already been cleared, according to officials.
The dredging work is expected to be completed by the end of this month, after which ships will be able to navigate through the canal without getting stuck in the sand.
Published – August 02, 2026 08:34 pm IST
