Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has said that local bodies should acquire land to build a suitable approach road for the bridge across Chengalthode, which was built by the airport at a cost of ₹6.88 crore as part of flood mitigation works. The Chengalthode bridge links Thuravanakara and Chethikkode across a tributary of the Periyar river.
Angamaly municipal councillor Thomas Mathew from Chethikkode ward said the approach road was narrow and residents were raising a protest. The bridge, he said, was built by the airport authorities to ensure that villages on the banks of the Chengalthode had easy access to safe places if the area was flooded. Chethikkode was one of the areas severely affected by flooding in August 2018, when even the airport had to be shut down.
The airport authorities have said that the approach road on both ends of the bridge that links Angamaly municipality and Kanjoor panchayat belonged to the local bodies and the authorities should take steps to solve the problem. Since the bridge was broad enough, the local bodies should be able to solve the problem by acquiring land and building an approach road, according to an official communication from CIAL on Saturday. The bridge is 45 metres long, has a breadth of 7.5 metres, and has a 1.5-metre footpath.
A bridge was built in 2002 across the Chengalthode, but the area continued to be flooded. The idea of the new bridge came up after the 2018 floods and CIAL took up the work, the communication added.
