Sudarshan Setu: A road to Beyt Dwarka

Beyt Dwarka could be seen from the mainland long before it could be reached by road. Pilgrims heading to the island’s Krishna temple travelled by ferry, with journeys tied to daytime service. On 25 February 2024, the opening of Sudarshan Setu gave them another way across: a road from Okha directly onto the island. [1] [2]

The bridge runs for about 2.32 kilometres. The Prime Minister’s Office put its cost at approximately ₹980 crore when Narendra Modi inaugurated it. Photographs of its towers and cables supplied the spectacle, but its practical change was straightforward. A traveller could remain in a vehicle for a journey that had previously required a boat. [1]

From a foundation stone to a crossing

Modi had laid the foundation stone on 7 October 2017, more than six years before the opening. The contemporary PTI report described a four-lane structure with footpaths on both sides and a 900-metre central cable-stayed portion. That central section and the full bridge are different measurements; the entire 2.32 kilometres should not be mistaken for one unsupported span. [2]

The pedestrian route was part of the design from the outset. At opening, the official account described images of Krishna and verses from the Bhagavad Gita along the footpaths, with solar panels overhead. Its one-megawatt solar claim describes the installation’s power capability, not a measured annual quantity of electricity supplied. The published inauguration record contains no operating-generation series. [1]

Different fortunes at the island end

By May 2024, The Indian Express was reporting cars carrying visitors onto the island. Darshan Doltani, a trader who had made an earlier visit by ferry, welcomed being able to drive across and recalled his concerns about crowded boats. His experience showed the attraction of the new route without proving an island-wide increase in tourism income. [3]

At Paaj, near the bridge’s island landing, the newspaper found a harsher story. Hasina Jagatiya said her general store had been demolished in the October 2022 clearance drive and that she had not found another livelihood. Ferry-dependent families also described losing their passengers. [3]

An unnamed district official gave the newspaper a different account, saying the cleared structures occupied government land and that many affected families had homes or plots elsewhere. That response belongs alongside the residents’ testimony; it does not establish that every displaced household received adequate rehabilitation. The report recorded the dispute and individual losses, rather than a complete balance sheet of jobs gained and lost. [3]

The first monsoon brought another test. On 25 July 2024, Gujarat Samachar reported potholes after heavy rain and said repairs had begun. Its account drew partly on photographs and videos circulating online. It was a report of surface damage, not an engineering determination that the bridge’s supporting structure had failed. Nor does that dated report describe its condition today. [4]

Within five months of the opening ceremony, attention had moved from the towers above the water to the carriageway under the wheels. The new island road was already acquiring the ordinary, continuing demands of a public road: inspection, repairs and maintenance through the rains. [4]