A bridge too far for Ponnurunni residents

KOCHI: The delay in  the construction work of the Ponnurunni RoB has caused untold  miseries to the residents of the area. “The work on the bridge was started in February last year. We are willing to welcome development but what we fear is the inordinate delay. At present,  the residents of Thammanam, living on the sides of the railway crossing, have to walk more than a kilometre to the nearby bus stop since no buses   have a stop here with the closing of the railway gate three months ago,” said Saju, a local resident.According to the contractors of Cherian and Varkey Constructions, the   company which undertook the project, the bridge work will be completed only  by year-end. The project was initially scheduled to be completed by May. Till date, only 35 per cent of the bridge work has been completed. Narayanan, contractor for Cherian And Varkey Construction, said the delay was the result of the callousness on the part of the Kerala Water  Authority (KWA) in removing the water pipes. “The KWA was supposed to  remove the pipes by May last year, but it did so only by November. Owing to this, we could not start any work in the Vytilla region till last month,” he said. “The relaying of the telephone and electric cables and regulating the  construction work in such a way that it does not affect the BPCL’s fuel lines also caused the delay,” he added. Narayanan said there are chances that the work might get delayed further as the Railway authorities have not yet given a final nod.