CHENNAI: Monsoons have come and gone but residents of Sadayankuppam in Thiruvottiyur have given up all hope of seeing a completed bridge for their people. The half-constructed bridge over the Kosasthalaiyar river and Buckingham canal has been neglected for eight years now, connected on one end by an iron ramp and an iron staircase on the other.
This iron ramp and staircase that connects the bridge to the ground is meant only for pedestrians. The practice in the Sadayankuppam village is to park two-wheelers, that they painstakingly push upwards the iron ramp, on top of the bridge and walk the remaining way.
While this may save them a four-kilometre round-about through neighbouring Burma Nagar, there is no way that emergency services can reach them fast because it cannot pass this bridge that connects Sadayankuppam with Manali Oil Refinery Road. There are over 300 families in Sadayankuppam alone.
"If someone is pregnant in our area, we cannot take an auto and go over the bridge. We have to take the three-four kilometre detour through the Burma Nagar bridge and lose precious time," said 61-year-old Mary of Sadayankuppam.
While Highway officials have been maintaining for the last several years that work on completing the rest of the bridge is set to begin 'soon', nothing has actually been done so far. Now, the bridge stops mid-way across the Kosasthalaiyar.
"Now it's not raining so pedestrians are able to walk over the bridge but once it rains, it becomes flooded since its on a waterbody and even pedestrians can't use the bridge," said Selva, another resident of Sadayankuppam.
The issue in the construction of the bridge is land acquisition where five compensation cases have been pending for years now. This, however, has shown little signs of being resolved.
When contacted, a senior Higways department official said that the process to award compensation was in the 'advanced stages'
"The amount initially allocated for the project was from the Tsunami funds. Now, we have already drawn up estimates for funding under a different scheme," said a Highways official.
"We understand that this is a crucial bridge for people there and so the tender is expected to be floated within two months," said another Highways official.