KOCHI: Promised over a decade ago, the bridge connecting Kadamakkudy islets with the mainland — meant to offer better connectivity to the panchayat residents — remains incomplete. In a recent development, V A Benjamin, councillor of Valiya Kadamakkudy, said the GIDA officials are processing the completion of the bridge. “The officials have now sped up the land acquisition process and asked the residents to submit documents for further proceedings related to the package by March 19,” he said.
Residents living on the island are dependent on the mainland for all their basic requirements — hospital emergencies to education. “This bridge is our dream. If it becomes a reality, people of Valiya Kadamakkudy and Chathanad in Ezhikkara village can stop depending on the ferry service,” said Sabu John, a resident.
The Valiya Kadamakkudy–Chathanad Bridge and its approach roads are part of a cluster of three bridges built to link Chathanad, part of Ezhikkara in North Paravoor, and Container Road. The construction of the Valiya Kadamakkudy–Ezhikkara Bridge is almost complete, except for the landing in Chathanad. At present, to reach the city, people take the Varapuzha-Container road.
“The completion of the bridge will reduce the time taken for the island residents to reach the city. Now, the travel via Container Road takes more than 45 minutes or more. With the bridge, this will come down to 20 minutes,” said Melson Manuel, a resident of Kadamakkudy.
Though the Pizhala-Moolampilly bridge built by the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA) came up last year, the construction of bridges from Kothad to Chennur, Chariyamthuruthu ward to Chennur, and Chennur to Pizhala ward is yet to begin.
The initial construction cost of the bridge was Rs 19 crores. It needs around Rs 25 crore more for completion. “The rods at the end have rusted by now. We need to check whether rust has spread inside. If it has, we will seek expert opinion on how to rectify it,” said a GIDA official, adding that the work was stopped due to issues with land acquisition for the approach roads. “Since land acquisition at Chathanad is under way, construction will start soon,” he added.