Ram Setu, the 48 kilometre long bridge has always been a topic of high curiosity on the minds of people with respect to its formation. A research will be conducted to find out about the formation of this bridge. The centre has finally given its approval for the underwater research to determine the origin of Ram Setu.

It may be noted that this setu holds religious significance because of one of the major Hindu epics, the Ramayana. The Central Advisory Board on Archaeology, a body under the Archaeological Survey of India, gave its nod last month for the underwater exploration project.

This research will help determine the age of the period of Ramayana and the process of the formation of Ram Setu also known as Rama’s Bridge or Nal Setu. The setu is a chain of limestone shoals between Pamban Island off the south-eastern coast of Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. The research is likely to begin this year.

The study will also help find whether there are any submerged habitations around Ram Setu. As per the proposal of underwater research project, “The historicity and the date of ‘Ramayana’ remain a debatable subject among historians, archaeologists and scientists. It is proposed to carry out scientific and underwater archaeological studies to understand the nature and formation of the Ram Setu and its surrounding area”.