Harbour bridge set to boost tourism potential of Ponnani

The much-awaited harbour bridge at Ponnani will open for traffic from April 25. The 330-metre-long bridge connecting the Ponnani fishing harbour and the Karma Coastal Road is expected to give a fillip to the tourism potential of the region.

The much-awaited harbour bridge at Ponnani will open for traffic from April 25. The 330-metre-long bridge connecting the Ponnani fishing harbour and the Karma Coastal Road is expected to give a fillip to the tourism potential of the region.

Minister for Tourism and Public Works P.A. Mohamed Riyas will inaugurate the bridge on April 25 evening. P. Nandakumar, MLA, will preside over the function.

The bridge has become a tourist attraction even before its inauguration owing to its geographical location. People from various parts of Malappuram district visit Ponnani to see the bridge across the Canolly canal. The bridge is 12-metres wide and has a two-metre-wide pedestrian track.

A drone’s eye view of the bridge and the coastal road published in The Hindu a few weeks ago had become a hit and had been shared widely on social media.

The approach road is 650-metres long towards the Chamravattom side and 250-metres long towards the Ponnani side. The Public Works department has renovated the 520-metre long harbour road too as part of the bridge project.

Constructed at a cost of ₹36.28 crore by Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCC), the bridge is expected to bypass traffic congestion in Ponnani town.

The bridge is six metres tall in the middle, and the two piers are 45-metres-wide apart so that any probable water transport services through the Canolly canal will not be affected in future.