After long years of plea by the local people and delegations by the people’s representatives, the Chittarikadavu regulator-cum-bridge project has finally got administrative sanction from the government.
Tenders will be floated shortly for the multi-crore undertaking after getting technical sanction from the Irrigation Department.
The project will be funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) under the Malabar Irrigation Project (MIRPA). A total fund of Rs.20 crore will be invested for the completion of the undertaking. According to people’s representatives from the region, the new regulator-cum-bridge, which comes across a tribute of Kanayamkodu river, will help in preventing the saline water intrusion into the local drinking water sources and emerge as a permanent solution for addressing drought. It will mainly come to the benefit of people in Balussery, Perambra, and Koyilandy regions.
It was in 2009 that the project was firstly approved by the government after including it in the Malabar Irrigation Project. Though the government had then sanctioned Rs.10 crore for the project, the delay in getting a final design from the Irrigation Design and Research Board prolonged and affected the implementation.
K. Dasan, MLA, from the Koyilandy Assembly constituency, said the estimate of the project was revised and given administrative sanction after several years of constant fight by the people’s representatives from the region. “The regulator-cum-bridge constructed at a length of 150 metres, will also replace the conventional ferrying at Chittarikadavu,” he added.