KOCHI: Perhaps it could be a mere coincidence... or a little more than that? Well, while one can’t say that for sure, what is certain is that the demolition of Palarivattom flyover began on Monday. Exactly 36 years to the day, on another September 28, a movie titled ‘Panchavadipalam’ had hit theatres across the state. One of the finest political satires ever made in Mollywood, the film was themed on the destruction of a bridge, a metaphor for endemic corruption and palm greasing in modern-day society. Helmed by master filmmaker K G George, the film tells the story of a bridge which comes crashing soon after its inauguration.
Since the movie’s release, ‘Panchavadipalam’ is a name used by people to refer to all such bridges whose quality of construction is called into question. Many LDF leaders have compared the Palarivattom flyover to Panchavadippalam. The flyover, commissioned in 2016, was closed for traffic in May 2019 after nearly 2,000 cracks had been found on the girders and pier caps.