KOLLAM: PWD Minister V.K. Ibrahim Kunju said here on Monday that the old iron bridge here would be reconstructed on the standards of the new bridge.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new bridge parallel to the iron bridge, he said, “the administrative sanction for a survey has been given based on the request of Mr P.K. Gurudasan MLA.”
The new bridge along the National Highway was inaugurated by Labour Minister Shibu Baby John in the absence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. He said the officials who had delayed the opening of the bridge due to the design faults should be punished. Steps would be provided for those living on the western side of the bridge to access the road, he said.
The iron bridge was one of the biggest traffic bottlenecks in the city. The construction of the new bridge was completed in February 2014. It was lying idle due to procedural delays in constructing the approach road.
The work of the new bridge began with the Rs 7.48 crore from the Central Road Fund in February 2011. The budget exceeded by Rs 10 crore due to administrative delay. The cost of the approach road soared to Rs 18 crore from the estimated Rs 9 crore.
The LDF district committee protested against an alleged “protocol violation” at the inaugural function. As per protocol, the local MLA should deliver the welcome speech.
However, Mr N.K. Premachandran delivered the welcome speech instead of Mr P.K. Gurudasan. The initial work and fund allocation were done by the LDF government with the efforts put in by Mr Gurudasan.
