COIMBATORE: Nearly a month after the bridge connecting Lingapuram to four other villages was submerged in the floodwater of the Kanthayaru river, relief comes only in the form of a fibre boat being added to the fleet of coracles put in place to ferry the villagers back and forth. The Revenue department dispatched the boat to the place on Tuesday.
The bridge became unusable after water from the Bhavanisagar dam was released in the second week of October. Since then, three coracles have been in operation to get the people of all five villages -- Lingapuram, Kandhavayal, Aalur, Kanthaiyur and Uliyur -- cross the river. Considering that this is not enough to meet the needs of the villagers, and that it lacked safety, the district administration has added a fibre boat to the relief effort.
A Revenue official said that the fibre boat would be operated till the bridge can be used again. However, all these measures remain temporary as the bridge goes under every time water is released into the river from the Bhavani dam. People in these villages are left marooned every time there is heavy rain in the western ghats. The bridge, only 20 feet in height, does not do the one job it was meant to -- offer connectivity across the river. The bridge was built in 2003-04; unless a new one is built at the height of at least 40 feet, the villagers would continue to face the same problem year after year, pointed out K Ramesh of Kanthaiyur.