GUNTUR: There are no bridges for considerable distances on the Krishna river, forcing the public to make risky boat journeys to travel across the river. There is no bridge across the river between Dachepalli and Vijayawada, a distance of 128 km. Similarly, there is no bridge between Vijayawada and Penumudi, a distance of 60 km, or between Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar, a distance of 160 km. The people living in these areas have been asking the government to construct simple bridges so that they can avoid the risky journeys in rickety boats that put their lives at risk, but they have got no response.
The public crosses the river in boats from Taduvai, Chamarru, Madipadu, Val-labhapuram and Ginjupalli, or by ballakattu (rafts) from Madipadu, Puttagudem, Govindapuram, and Ramayagudem. A launch operates from Rayapudi in Amaravati to the ferry in Ibrahimpatnam in Krishna district. The boats and rafts have permission to operate but many small boats from Guntur district side make the crossing to Krishna district without any official permission. The locals of ancient Amaravati used to travel to Chevitikallu on the other side of the Krishna by boat without any permission.
Mr P Subramanyam, a trader, says this is the shortest route to reach Guntur, saving nearly 60 km going via Vijayawada and then to Guntur by road. He said people come in large numbers for pilgrimages to shrines in Muktyala and the ancient Amareswara temple, and they travel by boat. He said there was no bridge between Vijayawada and Jaggaiahpeta, a distance of 90 km. He recalled that in 2004 then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy, had promised to construct a bridge between old Amaravati-Chevitikallu, but this did not happen. Later, CMs K. Rosaiah and N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, also promised a bridge.
Amaravati to get a bridge
A six-lane bridge spanning 3.2 km on the Krishna river connecting the new capital Amaravati from Rayapudi-Lingayapalem to Ibrahimpatnam in Krishna district has been proposed at a cost of Rs 1,423 crore. The survey for the bridge was completed recently and tenders have been called. Currently, one has to go from Hyderabad to Vijayawada to reach Amaravati. The heavy traffic on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway, particularly at Kana-kadurga temple, Bhavanipuram and Gollapudi, is a constant headache for commuters.
The proposed bridge will start near Lingayapalem and end at Pavithra Sangamam in Ibrahimpatnam, directly connecting to the Hyderabad highway. The bridge will cut down the distance to Amaravati by 50 km. Cutting down the time and distance is a huge benefit to transporters like Mr A. Raghavulu, as vehicles will not have to go via Vijayawada. He said that as the bridge is to have six lanes there would be no traffic hurdles. The transporter sought construction of more bridges across the Krishna river between Vijayawada and Penumudi as there is no bridge till the Krishna river merging point, to ease traffic on the highway.
