The Hindu : Bridge in danger of collapse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Bridge in danger of collapse

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM July 15. The 1,000-odd families on the scenic Edayar island in the Pachalloor ward are keeping their fingers crossed. Their prayers are focussed on the safety of the dilapidated bridge from Thiruvallam, their sole link to the mainland.

The island, which is emerging as a tourist destination, is a major centre of the coir industry in the region. More than 70 per cent of the inhabitants are engaged in the industry. Hordes of tourists traverse the rickety bridge on their way to visit the island.

Illegal extraction of sand from the canal has left the bridge tottering on its legs. With the beams exposed, the structure is in danger of collapsing. Over the years, many of the railings have broken away, forcing users to stick to the middle of the bridge. Covering an area of 500 acres, the Edayar island spans the estuary at the mouth of the Karamana River providing a breathtaking view of the sea. The island is bordered by Poonthura, Pachalloor, Panathura and Thiruvallam.

Until the bridge was constructed about 50 years back, the families living on the island had to depend on a ferry service. But the narrow bridge with stairs at both ends, was not built to handle vehicular traffic. Repeated appeals to the Government to reconstruct the bridge have fallen on deaf ears.

Thampy, owner of a nearby tourist resort feels that residents of the island are flirting with danger. He points out that it is difficult to rush patients to hospital from the island. The stay on sand-mining issued by the district administration has come as a boon for the bridge but residents fear that the damage has already been done. The City Corporation council recently adopted a resolution urging the Government to take up the construction of a new bridge capable of handling vehicular traffic.

Local people believe that a new bridge would significantly boost the tourist potential of the island which is set to take off with the proposal to launch a backwater boat service from Kovalam to Alappuzha as part of the Canal Walk project. They have submitted a memorandum to the Tourism Department.

The coir workers in the region are already up in arms against a Government proposal to lease out a major portion of the Kovalam canal and its banks to a hotel group for construction of a tourist resort.

The Kovalam Canal Samrakshana Samithy comprising coir workers and local people has embarked on an agitation to oppose the hotel project. Last year, police had to intervene after Samithy volunteers demolished a wall constructed by the hotel group on the road bordering the canal. The Samithy alleges that the illegally constructed wall had blocked access to the public road used by coir workers to bring in coconut husk and take out the coir.

The hotel project is part of a comprehensive tourism development package and involves dredging and widening the Kovalam canal to facilitate uninterrupted flow from the lagoon.

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