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Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan inaugurated a ₹13.70 crore causeway with vents across Kaundinya river, a tributary of Palar, in Gudiyatham on Friday. The bridge aims to be free of flooding during monsoon and help adjoining villages access key towns in the district.
He was accompanied by Vellore Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and senior officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), which executed the work.
The minister also inaugurated the ₹30.10 crore bitumen-surfaced road between Thalayatham village and Sempalli village on the river bund.
“The causeway can be used even during monsoon as the new facility is designed to avoid flooding especially during heavy flow in the river,” S. Kalipriyan, WRD Assistant Engineer (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu, adding that all the works would be completed by the end of December.
The causeway is built across the river from Gangaiamman temple to Gudiyatham town. The bridge is 165 metres long and nine metres wide. With 17 vents, it can discharge 59,000 cusecs of excess rainwater per minute.
WRD officials said that such high discharge of rainwater below the new bridge would prevent flooding of the facility and can be accessed by motorists including ambulances round-the-clock.
New Road
The officials said the new 2.5 km road on the river bund serves two purposes -- it helps farmers, office-goers and students from 58 villages that has a population of around 91,000 persons in Gudiyatham and Pernambut to reach the Gudiyatham town easily. Secondly, it eases traffic congestion on the Gudiyatham Main Road that connects major towns like Ambur, Pernambut, Pallikonda with Vellore.
The 5.5-metre-wide road is laid at a cost of ₹30.19 crore. The side walls of the bund were also strengthened. Five soak pits along the new stretch were formed to allow excess rainwater from stormwater drains into the river.
A tiled walkers’ path was built between Kamaraj bridge and Sunnambu Pettai village near the town along the river. The path is 570 metres long and four metres wide with seating arrangements, LED street lights and CCTV cameras. Steel fencing was also erected along the river to prevent walkers, especially children, from slipping into the river.
Published - September 14, 2024 12:00 am IST
