The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday observed that it would monitor the progress of repair works undertaken one Vallanadu bridge that connects Thoothukudi with Tirunelveli. The court sought a progress report in the case.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan were told that the approval for the repair works, pending before the competent authority, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)-Delhi, was expected to be given by December 25. Further, the court was told that the expected date to complete the bidding process in order to carry out the repair works was January 25, 2022. Taking note of the submission, the judges sought the progress report and adjourned the hearing till January 27, 2022.
The court was hearing the public interest litigation petition filed by G. Chidambaram of Thoothukudi district. He sought a direction to the authorities to repair the bridge across the Tamirabarani river.
The petitioner complained that the Vallanadu bridge was riddled with potholes. In 2017, there was a huge pothole on the middle of the bridge and it was repaired in a hasty manner. The patchwork had come off and there were more potholes on the road now.
He said that a reply to an RTI application revealed that 11 accidents occurred due to the potholes on the bridge from 2012-2021. It resulted in four casualties. Vehicle users were finding it difficult to use the bridge. The authorities should take immediate steps to repair the road so that accidents were prevented, he said.
Earlier, NHAI, in its status report, submitted that the repair works on the entire bridge would be taken up. The court sought a report on the time schedule with regard to the repair works.
