Operation Sagar Bandhu boost: India sends 10 bridges to rebuild Sri Lanka

Sharing details of the initiative, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X, “India continues to stand with Sri Lanka to support reconstruction efforts after Cyclone Ditwah.”

“To assist restoration of critical connectivity, a consignment of 10 Bailey Bridges was despatched today from Visakhapatnam to Colombo on-board INSGharial,” he added.

Jaiswal noted that the supply of bridges is part of India’s Special Economic Package of USD 450 million announced during the recent visit of External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to Sri Lanka. The assistance follows India’s emergency humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) support extended under Operation Sagar Bandhu.

Recently, a 120-foot Bailey Bridge on the B-492 Kandy–Ragala Road was jointly inaugurated by Dr Satyanjal Pandey, Deputy High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, and Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Member of Parliament, under India’s Post-Ditwah Reconstruction Assistance programme.

The newly commissioned bridge restores a vital road link, strengthening connectivity for communities in the region. It re-establishes an essential transport corridor crucial for passenger movement, the supply of essential goods, and the revival of local economic activity.

This marks the second Bailey Bridge constructed on the Kandy–Ragala Road under India’s USD 450 million Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Assistance to Sri Lanka.

It follows the inauguration of a 100-foot Bailey Bridge at KM-21 on January 10, jointly launched by the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, along with Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena and Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Madhura Senevirathna.