The Paulk Strait is located in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, bordered by the Bay of Bengal to the north, the Bay of Mannar to the south, India to the west, and Sri Lanka to the east (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Location of the Pauk Strait.
The Pauk Strait is about 137 kilometers long and 64-137 kilometers wide, with an average depth of only 2.3 meters and a maximum depth of only 9 meters. There are many small islands that are interconnected. The Pauk Strait is not suitable for large ships. Only the port of Jaffna on the coast of Sri Lanka and ** in southeastern India pass through this strait.
Figure 2: Features of the Pauk Strait.
Due to the shallow waters of the Pauk Strait, it is not possible to sail large ships. As a result, India's coastline is naturally divided into two parts: the east coast of the Bay of Bengal and the west coast of the Arabian Sea. In addition to land transportation (road, railway, etc.), the two sides of the strait can only detour to the eastern coastal area of Sri Lanka, which not only increases the shipping distance and shipping time, but also adds some uncertain risk factors [Figure 3].
Figure 3: Modes of transport on the east and west coasts of India.
Therefore, India is committed to the project of artificially excavating the waterway in the Pauk Strait to make the Pauk Strait suitable for navigation, but the Adam Bridge in the Pauk Strait is regarded by the local people as a "relic of the gods", and many cultural relics and relics protectors oppose the project and are committed to protecting the cultural relics and civilization sites [Fig. 4 and Fig. 5].
Figure 4: Location of the Adam Bridge.
Figure 5: Surroundings of Adam Bridge.