KOCHI: The dismantling of the Venduruthy old rail bridge has triggered a demand for protecting the old historic structures in the city. One of the structures, which is all set to become a historic monument is the old Venduruthy Road bridge. K V Thomas MP had already requested Mahesh Sharma, Minister for Culture, to send a Central team to Kochi to assess the possibilities of declaring Venduruthy bridge as a heritage property.
“The Union Minister has taken our request favourably and I understand very soon, a Central team will visit Kochi and study the heritage character of the bridge,” said Thomas.
The bridge was one of the vital links between the city and Willingdon Island. Soon after the commissioning of the Venduruthy-Vikrant Bridge in 2011, the old road bridge got relegated to being a relic.“More than a century old Venduruthy Road bridge was constructed by the British and is now in an abandoned stage. I understand from the Cochin Port authorities that the bridge has already been handed over to the PWD Department. And it is the duty of the PWD department to maintain it properly,” said Thomas.
The Tourism Department had earlier come up with plans to revamp the bridge without affecting the actual structure. A lot of people visit the bridge every day, mainly for angling. Anglers day, an event, is also organised annually on the bridge. “I recently came across reports that plans are afoot to demolish the old Road bridge.
We have already seen various protests against this move. Even the ruling party-CPM-has started agitations. They are planning a human chain on March 26 demanding to protect it as a heritage property. Hope the government will take an appropriate decision,” added Thomas.
He said they had a discussion with the Port Trust chairman and he informed them that the Port has nothing to do with the old bridge since it has been already handed over to the state government.
“Now it is the Kerala Government that needs to take appropriate action so that the bridge will be maintained and protected as a heritage property,” he added.
Meanwhile, experts have already rejected the possibilities of repairing the bridge.
“In order to allow vehicular movement through the 500-metre old road bridge, there is a need to conduct a structural stability study. The only possibility is to maintain the bridge as a historic monument by carrying out necessary restoration works by allowing only pedestrians. The chances for resuming motor traffic is very slim,” added experts.