The construction of a foot-bridge across the Arasalaru has come as a gift to farmers living in a cluster of villages in and around Thandarthottam panchayat in Tiruvidaimarudur block near here.
Ease of travel
The bridge links two major villages Pottankadu, an interior hamlet beyond the river and Tiruppanthurai. Villagers have to take their produce from Pottankadu to Tiruppanthurai for marketing it at Mayiladuthurai or Kumbakonam.
For decades villagers had been using a conventional bridge built using bamboo poles. “It posed a risk to farmers taking agricultural produce or other materials from Pottankadu to Tiruppanthurai”, said A. Mahalingam, one of the residents of Tiruppanthurai.
Another farmer G. Ayyappan, said that the foot-bridge had come as a gift to the villagers. He explained the ordeals faced by the local residents particularly women during monsoon.
According to official sources, the foot-bridge had been constructed on a priority basis at an expenditure of Rs. 70 lakh.
The District Rural Development Agency had executed the project. Most of the civil work had been completed and it would be thrown open to use shortly.
The foot-bridge has been constructed on a priority basis at an expenditure of Rs. 70 lakh
