KOCHI: Thottancherry residents bogged down by travel woes can heave a sigh of relief. For the KSRTC launched a special, daily bus service to the village from Thursday. Residents of the villages, which is a part of Ayavana panchayat near Muvattupuzha, were living in crisis when the hanging bridge over the Kaliyar river which connected the village to the Kadumpedy village and other parts of the district was damaged in the floods.
School students and employees residing in the village depended on the 16-year-old bridge, which had already been in poor condition, to reach Muvattupuzha and nearby areas. The KSRTC service will be operational till a new bridge is constructed. The bus service will be available twice a day. It will start from Muvattupuzha at 7.10 am and reach Thottancherry, from where it will leave at 7.40 am to Muvattupuzha.
Similarly, it will start from Muvattupuzha at 5.40 pm and after reaching Thottancherry, will leave to Muvattupuzha at 6.20 pm. Since the bridge became inaccessible, the panchayat began a ferry service temporarily connecting the banks of the Kaliyar. A press release from the District Information Office said KEL had submitted a sketch and estimate for the new bridge to the Rural Development Commissioner.