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| Sunday, 20 March 2005 |
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India's goodwill gesture : Bridge on the Arugambay by Ananth Palakidnar Kitulgala was the location for the film `Bridge on the River Kwai' which highlighted the epic engineering skills of the British military Prisoners Of War during World War - 2 in Burma, now Myanmar.
Upon completion the bridge which is 860 ft in length is being considered as one of the longest bridges in Sri Lanka. The tale of the new bridge goes back to a truly altruistic gesture, when India sent its forces to help in tsunami relief work. Among them was Major Girish Kumar of the Indian Army's engineering division and other Indian military men. The engineering team led by Major Kumar launched their relief operation, initially in Galle, on January 1 by building a 70-ft bridge at Thelwatte in Hikkaduwa. The bridge was destroyed by the tsunami. "It is `Bailey bridge' named after the British military engineer Bailey, who designed bridges for military purposes during the early part of the 20th century. Bailey's designs still suit areas hit by wars or natural disasters," says Major Kumar.
The relief operations carried out by Major Kumar and his men in the worst hit areas in Galle lasted for little more than a month and ended on February 8. Their work also saw repairs to a 15-kilometre water supply line in Hikkaduwa, and the setting up of sanitary structures for more than ten refugee camps, sheltering tsunami victims. Upon completion of their relief work in Galle, the team embarked on an operation, code named `Arugambay Greater' to rebuild the bridge in Arugambay in Pottuvil, in the Eastern province, which was washed away by the tsunami. "Before commencing Operation `Arugambay Greater', our team had to construct a smaller (140 ft) bridge above a stream running close to the construction site of the main bridge. The idea of erecting this bridge was to create a supply route for the building of the main bridge. A smaller bridge, which was not in use in Siyambalanduwa in the Moneragala district had to be dismantled to get the components to build the supply route bridge. "Operation `Arugambay Greater' was launched on February 14 with my junior officer, Lieutenant Sunil Pillai and 82 soldiers of the Indian Army's Disaster-203 Engineer Regiment. Three Indian army doctors were also in the team to look after the men involved in the Operation," says Major Kumar. The bridge which was re-built by the Indian army men was originally constructed in 1965 to streamline transportation facilities between Arugambay and Pottuvil area. Until the tsunami devastation, the Arugambay area had been considered one of the sought after places in the world for sea surfing. According to Major Kumar, his men had taken up the task of bridge building as a challenge and reconstructed the Arugambay bridge with a 360ft extension to its original 500 feet. "The components varying from 50 kilos to 400 kilos were physically lifted by the Indian soldiers without any machinery" he says. The Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Mrs. Nirupama Rao, was behind the scene in making the construction of the bridge a success. Major Kumar says that on a request made by the Indian envoy in Sri Lanka to the Indian government, the main components to build the bridge were brought from a Government engineering institution called `Garden Reach' from Colcotta in West Bengal, in two container ships. Operation `Arugambay Greater', the task to re-build the Arugambay bridge by the Indian army engineers was supported by 20 men of the 7th Field Engineer regiment of the Sri Lankan Army. The Road Development Authority and the State Development and Construction Corporation also played an important role in supporting the Indians in completing the Arugambay Bridge. With the extension of 360 feet to the original length, the re-constructed Arugambay bridge is now one of the longest bridges in Sri Lanka. "If I am not wrong I believe that this is the longest single way bridge in Sri Lanka," says Major Kumar. "Operation Arugambay could also be considered for the remarkable engineering operations carried out by the Indian army in recent years," exclaims Major Kumar. The bridge which is worth one million US dollars is a gift from India, according to Major Kumar. Operation `Arugambay Greater' which commenced on February 14 was accomplished in three weeks, on March 8. The re-constructed bridge is now 860 feet in length and 11-ft wide. The bridge can carry weight upto 18 tons. "It was wonderful to see Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse making the first walk on the bridge after the re-construction was over" says Major Kumar. Over the years India has been a good friend indeed whenever Sri Lanka needed the help. Way back in late fifties, the Indian Air Force was in Sri Lanka to help during the massive floods in the North. Again in the early seventies, the Indian army stood by the Sri Lankan armed forces to crush the insurgency in the South. From 1987 to 1989 the Indian Peace Keeping Force was in the war-torn North and the East to implement the Indo-Lanka peace accord, though it turned out to be a failure. In 1998 the Indian army arrived in Sri Lanka to assist in the flood relief operations in the Ratnapura district. So, now again with the destructions caused by tsunami, the Indians arrived in Sri Lanka and did their best in comforting the country by rendering their whole-hearted assistance. Therefore the Bridge on Arugambay remains not only an engineering marvel of the Indian army, but also a monument to the Sri Lankans, with love from India. "It was a pleasant stay in Sri Lanka despite the terrific destruction caused by the tsunami", says Major Kumar who returned to India by an Indian Naval ship, a few days ago.
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| Produced by Lake House |
Alec Guinness played the role of a military engineer in the film, which
won several Oscars in the fifties. Four decades on a similar bridge has been
built in Sri Lanka. But unlike `Kwai' this bridge has been built by a team
of military engineers, not Prisoners Of War, but envoys of goodwill, from
India. The team was here to re-construct the bridge on the Arugambay in the
Eastern Province, which was devastated by the tsunami. 
