MALKANGIRI: Buckling under pressure of people from four States, the Andhra Pradesh Government finally opened the 290-metre high bridge over Sileru river on its side on Thursday. The bridge will reduce travel time between Malkangiri and Hyderabad, a distance of 520 km, to just 14 hours. Rampachodavaram ITDA Project Officer in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh KVN Chakradhar Babu declared the bridge open on Andhra side. Built at an estimated cost of Rs 23.13 crore under LWE scheme, the bridge has a 10 km approach road connecting Chintur with Motu in the district.
Similarly, on Odisha side, the 332-metre approach road was declared open by Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi in the presence of Malkangiri MLA Aditya Madhi and SDC Chairman Manas Madkami.
Even though construction of the bridge on Andhra side was completed more than a year back, delay in completion of the 332-metre approach road from Odisha side had irked the residents of Motu.
However, when Andhra Pradesh delayed opening the bridge after completion of the approach road from Odisha, people from the district and neighbouring States of Telangana and Chhattisgarh sat on a dharna demanding its commissioning at the earliest. Sources said, the bridge would not only facilitate 24x7 inter-State bus services between Malkangiri and the three neighbouring States but also boost business in the district. It will also help in tackling Maoists and enable security personnel to conduct round-the-clock patrolling.
Bridging the gap
The bridge will reduce travel time between Malkangiri and Telangana Capital Hyderabad to 14 hours
Built at a cost of Rs 23.13 crore, the bridge has a 10 km approach road connecting Chintur with Motu in the district Construction of bridge on Andhra side was completed more than a year back