Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday inaugurated the suspension bridge constructed across river Achencoil at Pandalam.
Mr. Chandy said the Cabinet had given, in principle, approval for the proposal to set up a township based at Pandalam by including the two grama panchayats of Pandalam and Kulanada in it. He said the next Cabinet meeting would examine the project proposal in detail and give final clearance to it.
The Chief Minister said the government would explore the possibility of constructing a bypass at Pandalam, depending on the availability of the land required for the same.
The Chief Minister opened the Annadanam, jointly sponsored by the Pandalam Palace Managing Committee and the Palace Welfare Society, at the Raja Rajashekhara Mandapam on the occasion.
The Revenue Department had constructed the bridge linking the two grama panchayats of Pandalam and Kulanada situated on either bank of the river at an estimated cost of Rs.1.74 crore.
The State-owned Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Company Limited (KEL) had constructed the steel structure.
The suspension bridge also connects the Valiyakoickal Sastha Temple as well as the Pandalam Palace on the Pandalam side and the Sree Krishna Swamy Temple as well as the Kaippuzha Palace situated on the Kulanada side of the river.
Presiding over the function, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said the bridge was a major achievement of the department that had released the fund required for the project from the Disaster Management Fund.
Concrete slabs had been paved on the pathway and the two panchayats had constructed the bridge approaches and rubble masonry on either bank of the river.
