If the nearly 1,500 families on Pizhala island, close to Kochi city, regret as much as the losses they suffered in the recent floods, it is the big delay in completion of the Moolampally-Pizhala bridge.
“Our anxiety would have been reduced much during the floods if there was a bridge connectivity to the mainland,” said Kadamakkudy panchayat development standing committee chairman E.X. Benny on Sunday.
He said the recent floods were a grim warning. It caused much anxiety among the islanders as they scrambled to safety on August 16 in makeshift rafts and boats. A bridge link would make evacuation swifter and safer, he said. The lack of a bridge connectivity has also been reflected in the heavy rush of vehicles and people on the lone ferry service linking the Pizhala island to Ernakulam mainland. A resident of the island, Alex said that of the four ferry services that were in operation, only the Kothad-Pizhala service is on now. All the other ferry services Moolampally-Pizhala, Charianthuruthy-Pizhala and Kadamakkudy-Pizhala are off after the floods. The islanders are back to normal and all of them have started commuting to the city and its neighbourhood for their daily jobs. The rush will become more heavy as the working week opens on Monday, said Mr. Alex.
The isolation of the island is a big problem because all government institutions such as the village office, health centre, and veterinary centre are located on Pizhala island. The bridge work had progressed steadily for some time, said Mr. Benny, who requested Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) to speed up the work. The work has been taken up by GIDA as part of developing infrastructure on the islands around Ernakulam. The bridge work was seriously affected when two of the girders of the under-construction bridge collapsed in the middle of March 2017.
The demand for the Moolapally-Pizhala bridge was raised as early as 2004, during the inauguration of the trio of Goshree bridges that link Vypeen, Vallarpadam and Mulavukad to Ernakulam mainland. When completed, they will provide a direct link for the islanders to North Paravur.
Meanwhile, the Pizhala islanders and people in Moolampally and neighbouring areas have heaved a sigh of relief with water supply resuming.
