Valanthakad bridge project faces several roadblocks

Construction began in 2019 and was to be completed in 18 months, but the government reportedly did not sanction adequate funds for bridge’s approach spans

The stalemate over constructing a bridge connecting Valanthakad island in Maradu municipality, where 45 families live, and the mainland is expected to end soon, with construction materials that were lying idle at a yard in Puthencruz for the past three months being brought to Netoor to resume work on the bridge.

But many hurdles, including inadequate funds, remain. The construction of the bridge began in 2019 and was to be completed in 18 months, but the government reportedly did not sanction adequate funds for its approach spans. It was further caught in red tape due to delay in clearing bills of the sub contractor to which KEL, which had won the bid to construct the bridge, had entrusted the work.

The delay in readying the bridge has also led to a blame game between the ruling United Democratic Front and the Opposition Left Democratic Front in the Maradu municipality. Municipal chairman Antony Ashanparambil said the bridge could have been completed but for the government’s reluctance to sanction the estimated ₹7 crore that was needed for the project.

With only ₹5.60 crore being allocated, citing inadequate funds, there was no money to build the approach portions. In addition, the GST rate was subsequently increased from 12% to 18%, which further put a question mark on the project’s completion. The bridge could be realised only if another ₹7 crore was sanctioned, he said.

The LDF, meanwhile, has blamed the undue delay in undertaking the bridge’s sanctioned works as a reason for the stalemate. In the absence of a bridge, islanders rely on boats, including those arranged by the civic body, to commute to the mainland and back. It is learnt that a revised estimate is expected to be submitted to the government in order to realise the project.

While acknowledging that the bridge would provide road connectivity to the islanders, tourism stakeholders expressed concern that it would be at the cost of huge tracts of mangroves and other plants on the island. The bridge’s approach corridors would pass through wetlands, they said.

The fear is also rife that real estate dealers will purchase land in bulk on the island, further choking its fragile ecosystem, once road connectivity with the mainland is established. Discharge of effluents from buildings in the vicinity into the backwaters is already a cause for concern.