KANNIYAKUMARI: Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports EV Velu inspected the glass bridge being constructed at a cost of Rs 37 crore, which will connect the Thiruvalluvar statue and Vivekananda rock in Kanniyakumari on Thursday.
After inspection, the minister said that tourists visiting the Swami Vivekananda Memorial Rock in a boat had to go visit the Thiruvalluvar statue by boat again, which is time-consuming. Once the bridge was ready, tourists could walk on the bridge between Vivekananda Rock and Thiruvalluvar Statue.
The minister said, "The bridge would be complete by December and increase the inflow of tourists and revenue of the district. A total of Rs 226 crore has been set aside for 177 road works at 237 km length in the state highways in Nagercoil division in the last 3 years. While 163 works have been completed, the remaining work is still being carried out.
Moreover, of the six bridge construction works taken up at an estimated Rs 11 crore, 3 bridges have been completed. A total of Rs 9 crore has been set aside for seven road works. A total of four small bridges set up at Rs 2 crore have been inaugurated."
Velu noted that the detailed project report had been prepared for the 69 km new road connecting 47 coastal villages in the district from Kanniyakumari, Arockiapuram to Neerodi. Public Works Department additional chief secretary Mangat Ram Sharma, Highways and Minor Ports department secretary R Selvaraj, District Collector R Alagumeena and others participated.