The Amazing Phenomena Of Living bridges in India
Deep
inside the Northern India lies one of the most humid places on earth.
Here the bridges are not built, rather they are grown as tree roots.
The
living bridges in Cherrapunji, India are grown from the trees of Ficus elastica. The tree produces a
series of secondary roots higher on its trunk, these roots can easily be grown
and directed along the huge boulders along the river banks and across the
rivers themselves to form the bridges.
Cherrapunji
is also known as the wettest place on earth and lKhasis, a tribe in Meghalaya,
noticed the powerful roots of these trees and used them to make bridges on the
rivers in the region. These roots are thin and tender and can easily be
directed in the desired direction.
Wherever
they need, they grow these bridges. In order to make the roots of the true
tree Ficus elastica in the
right direction. They use trunks that are sliced from the middle to create a
root guidance systems.
Over
the time, as the roots strengthen themselves strong and sturdy living bridges
are produced. Some of these bridges are even more than a hundred feet long and
can take ten to fifteen years to become fully functional. However, they are
extraordinarily robust and strong enough that some of them can support the
weight of fifty people at a time because they are alive and
growing. Bridges gain strength over time – and some of these root bridges
are used daily by the people of the villages around Cherrapunji for more than
five hundred years.
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