The Public Works Department (PWD) has started repairing roads and bridges damaged in the floods in the district.
Executive engineer P.K. Rema on Friday said work on the Vaguvarai bridge on the Munnar-Marayur road was progressing despite continuous rain.
She said the bridge was in bad condition and a pipe culvert was being constructed there with a three-bed soil cover. It would help temporarily restore traffic and a new bridge should have to be constructed to replace the existing one.
The debris-clearing work was also progressing on main roads under the PWD.
Traffic was temporarily restored on the Santhipalam bridge connecting Vandiperiyar with Karinkulam Chappathu after the local people cleared the approach road. However, it was not clear if the bridge suffered any damage after it was submerged by water released from the Mullaperiyar dam.
Traffic on the Puliyanmala-Thodupuzha road was partially restored through the Idukki dam top and the debris accumulated close to the Cheruthoni bridge was being cleared.
Traffic would be allowed through the bridge only after the NHAI give its nod.
The bridge constructed at the time of the dam construction was submerged after water was released from the Idukki reservoir. A bus stand nearby was washed away and mud deposited on the approach road.
However, many areas in the district still remained cut off without road connectivity, power supply, and phone connections. Six habitations near Thadiyanpadu remained isolated after the bridge across the Periyar connecting Vashathoppe and Mariyapuram grama panchayats was destroyed in the floods.
People in the Mariyapuram grama panchayat have to travel over 20 km to purchase essential items and for medical help.
Marayur has been cut off for the past 15 days after the Vaguvarai bridge was damaged in the rain. Vegetables from Kanthallur are being moved to Tamil Nadu in the absence of road connectivity to Munnar. Large-scale crop damage was being reported from Vattavada and Kanthalur, the cool-season vegetable cultivating villages in the State. Traffic to Mankulam was restored after 22 days. An official said work was on round-the-clock to restore supply as many electric posts got uprooted in the region.
