Believe it or not, a 1.8-km-long bridge is all set to cut the distance between Hyderabad and Kolkata by 300 km and reduce travel time by over eight hours. The bridge across the Godavari in Khammam, likely to be thrown open by November, is a spectacular feat by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and a boon to Telangana State.
It would give access to the hitherto remote and unconnected tribal hamlets across the district and into the neighbouring Chhattisgarh State. It connects Mullakatta in Eturunagaram mandal in Warangal district and Poosuru in Khammam district and then Chhattisgarh.
Speaking to The Hindu , District Collector Vakati Karuna said the bridge was contemplated long back to bring development to the agency mandals and to contain naxal problem in parts of Telangana and Chhattisgarh. The then Collector K. Prabhakar Reddy proposed the bridge at Tupakulagudem where the Godavari is very narrow and construction could be completed fast. However, during former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure the plan was altered and the present site chosen.
