Bridge on Periyar river at Kalady develops large fissure

Motorists were left stranded on either side of the strategically located bridge after a large concrete block on the ageing bridge gave way and fell into the river.

The gaping hole that developed on the Sree Sankara bridge in Kalady on Saturday. Photo: Special Arrangement

Traffic along the Angamaly-Thiruvananthapuram State highway was thrown out of gear after a gaping hole developed on the busy Sree Sankara Bridge in Kalady during the peak hour traffic on Saturday morning. Motorists were left stranded on either side of the strategically located bridge after a large concrete block on the ageing bridge gave way and fell into the river.

The mishap took place around 9 a.m., exposing the iron bars while leaving almost a 1.5-metre-long and about two-foot-wide opening on the bridge towards the left side of the entry from Kalady. This effectively threw the traffic into disarray, putting thousands of unsuspected travellers including those bound for the Kochi airport from Idukki and Kottayam directions, to immense hardships.

Soon, a battery of police personnel led by DySP Harikrishnan K., officials of the Public Works Department and Revenue Department and people’s representatives of the area arrived on the scene and took stock of the damage.

Meanwhile, the agitated locals took out a protest march and staged a blockade on the bridge with slogans against the laxity of authorities in carrying out timely maintenance of the bridge. The tension was defused only after the authorities concerned promised prompt action on the issue. Later, the CPI(M) and the BJP called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the area.

“It was only two days ago that the PWD carried out some repair works on the bridge by spending around Rs.12 lakh. However, they did not do anything to strengthen the structure despite repeated requests’’, said Varghese M.T., a CPI (M) leader and member of the Kalady grama panchayat.

Greens also opened a frontal attack on the authorities whom they accused of turning a blind eye to illegal sand mining in the waters beneath the bridge that has resulted in its structure sinking.

“While the court banned mining within one kilometre radius of structures, the State government further diluted it to 500 metres in its legislation. But even this restriction is not being honoured’’, said S.Seetharaman, noted environmentalist.