Chennai: Pasiyavaram, a remote island in Pulicat lake, would be connected to Chennai-Pulicat highway with a high level bridge providing much needed road connectivity to thousands of people living who have to wade through brackish water to their work place and attend school everyday. After a long wait, the state highways department has floated tenders for the Rs 18.20 crore project to construct a high-level connecting Pasiyavaram with Chennai-Pulicat Road.
The proposal for a high level bridge was mooted after the 2004 tsunami when people were stranded in the island with no road connectivity to move out to a safer place. The construction of the bridge would benefit thousands of residents living in Pasiyavaram Kuppam, Satankuppam, Sathyavaram Kuppam, Rahmat Nagar, Idamanikuppam and Tsunami Quarters. At present the people living in the hamlets in the Island have to go to Ponneri and Pulicat village for day to day activities by wading through the shallow waters or using boats. During monsoon period and high tide, the villager find it very difficult to cross the lake.
“We are happy that the highways department has floated tender for the much delayed project. We want them to execute the works without any further delay to provide relief to thousands of people living in the island,” Durai Mahendran, general secretary of Tiruvallur Maavatta Paarambariya Aikiya Meenavar Sangam who had been religiously following up the project and writing to the state and central government to execute the bridge work. Mahendran, who hails from Pasiyavaram, said that school going children suffer a lot due to absence of a bridge. “Many students have to take long leave during the monsoon season as they cannot wade through the water,” he said. Though the project was sanctioned in 2007-08 under Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme for Rs 15 crore, the works could not be taken up immediately as it required forest department’s clearance.
“As the proposed bridge is located in the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary, clearance from the forest department is required. Due to the delay in the approval from the forest department, work could not be taken up,” said a Highway department official. After a long process, the Ministry of Environment and Forest cleared the project, the official said, adding that the bids for the project was floated after upwardly revising the project estimate to Rs 18.20 crore.
