KOCHI: For nearly six years, the century-old iron bridge behind the Tripunithura temple has remained caught between two differing cries — dismantle and preserve.While the public works department (PWD) has initiated the process to build a new, wider structure over Padinjare Puzha, the project has run into land acquisition delays and a strong movement by a section of people demanding the preservation of the old bridge.
Interestingly, the iron bridge is among the structures the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has identified as having ‘historical’ significance.
Now, with the condition of the 130-year-old bridge deteriorating in the absence of proper maintenance and with three- and four-wheelers denied entry, peeved local residents are set to move the court again, questioning the inordinate delay in reconstructing the bridge that offers the easiest route to Tripunithura town from areas south of the river.
“Only two-wheelers are now allowed to ply through the bridge. No maintenance is being done as the authorities maintain that the bridge will eventually be dismantled to build a new one.
In effect, no action is being taken. Hence, we intend to approach the court, seeking to know the status quo of the project and requesting the court’s directive to speed up the process,” said K S Sankaranarayanan, secretary of the Mukkottil Temple Road Residents’ Association which had moved the High Court last year.
“The PWD authorities could have carried out temporary tarring and maintenance on the bridge which is now full of potholes. There is a heavy rush of pedestrians and two-wheelers on account of the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple festival. Instead, they just filled a few of potholes for namesake using cold patch asphalt,” he alleged.
Advocate Binoy Vasudevan, representing the residents’ association, said the state government had granted administration sanction for `33 crore to reconstruct the bridge when they filed the first writ petition. “After we filed a writ again,
`50 lakh was allotted for the initial land acquisition work. However, a group demanded that a social impact assessment study be carried out, and they too filed a petition. Now, the work has remained stalled for a long time,” Binoy said.