Mettur dam release will not hit work on bridge across Cauvery, clarifies highways department
TIRUCHY: With the scheduled opening of the Mettur dam hardly a week away, city residents and activists have raised concerns over the ongoing construction of a new bridge across the Cauvery, connecting Mela Chinthamani in the city with Mambala Salai in Sriragam, taking a hit from the river water flow.
The new high-level bridge being constructed at an estimate of Rs 106 crore adjacent to the one built in 1976 will be 540 metres long and 17.75 metres wide. It will have 16 spans. The Construction and Maintenance Wing of the state highways department is building the bridge using funds from the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Program (CRIDP).
Mentioning the bridge work having been initiated following prolonged demands to ease traffic congestion on the existing one across the Cauvery, P Ayyarappan, coordinator of the Road Users Welfare Committee, said currently, seven of its 15 proposed pillars have only been completed in construction from the Mambala Salai side. With the Cauvery water scheduled to be released from the Mettur dam on June 12, he expressed scepticism over the completion of piling work on the bridge pillars ahead of the river water reaching the district. Each pillar is learnt to require six piles.
When contacted, a senior official from the state highways department told TNIE, "We have safeguarded the seven completed pillars by creating temporary sand bunds to divert the water flow towards the southern side. This allows us to continue constructing pier caps on the pillars and placing spans on them. However, the quantum of water flowing in the river will determine whether we can continue the work or will need to suspend it temporarily." Ayyarappan urged the authorities to complete the work at the earliest without compromising on quality.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
Court order seeking FIR in EDC land fraud matter stayed
Panaji: The high court of Bombay at Goa stayed the order of a North Goa court directing the anti-corruption branch (ACB) of the directorate of vigilance to register a first information report (FIR) in connection with allegations of fraud related to land allotment at EDC, Patto. Initially, the trial court had directed the CBI to register the FIR but later assigned the task to the ACB. S Karpe, additional public prosecutor said that the order passed by the sessions court judge at Panaji in the criminal case did not take into consideration the consent as contemplated under Section 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. According to the counsel, there was no reason given by the trial court for arriving at the conclusion that the FIR needs to be registered within 24 hours in accordance with the complaint. Subsequently, an application was filed for an extension of time, which was granted by the sessions court on June 19, extending the same by 48 hours. 'Issue notice to the respondents, returnable on July 11, 2025. Notice be issued by all the available modes of service. In the meantime, the effect and operation of the order dated June 9, 2025, shall be stayed till the next date,' Justice Nivedita Mehta observed. Activists had moved the court alleging that govt property was allotted to EDC to house certain offices, but they allegedly leased and sold land without obtaining permission from the govt, causing a loss of Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. Even if permission was obtained, they ought to have deposited 50% of the amount with the govt or the EDC, which has not been done, the activists had alleged. 'In the present case, the FIR ought to have been registered. There is nothing exceptional in the present case that warrants a delay in the registration of an FIR on the ground of a preliminary inquiry. Even if there were exceptional circumstances in the case, any preliminary inquiry could not have, under any circumstances, exceeded two days,' the sessions court Judge Irshad Agha had stated. 'In the present case, the FIR ought to have been registered and a preliminary inquiry ought to have been carried out by the investigating agency. However, there is enough material to directly register the FIR,' the judge had said.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Minister hands over compensation for Phase II of Pazhakutty–Mangalapuram Road project
Thiruvananthapuram : Food and civil supplies minister GR Anil on Saturday handed over the compensation for Phase II of the Pazhakutty–Mangalapuram Road project to district collector Anu Kumari. At a formal event held in collectorate conference hall, the minister handed over a cheque of Rs 44.64 crore. The 20km-long and 13m-wide Pazhakutty–Mangalapuram Road is being developed with a total investment of Rs 170 crore from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The compensation covers land acquired for the second reach of the project, stretching from Mukkam Palamoodu to Pothencode. This phase involves the acquisition of 1 acre and 70 cents from 400 families. Additionally, eight individuals eligible under the resettlement package will receive Rs 9.5 lakh each. The minister directed officials to expedite proceedings and complete compensation disbursement by Sept so that the tendering process can be initiated without delay. In the first reach of the project, 73.4 cent was acquired from 203 families, for which Rs 5.61 crore was disbursed as compensation. The 7km road section from Pazhakutty to Mukkam Palamoodu incurred an expenditure of Rs 35.52 crore, with Rs 12.93 crore allocated for its completion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo The construction on this stretch is scheduled to begin on July 1. The third reach, from Pothencode to Mangalapuram, involved acquiring 66 cent from 247 families, with Rs 9.46 crore already distributed as compensation. An amount of Rs 47.83 crore has been sanctioned for the construction work, which is currently nearing completion and is expected to be finalised by the end of July. The minister also instructed officials to take necessary steps to ease travel difficulties faced by the public during the construction phase. The review meeting was attended by deputy collector Muhammad Safeer and representatives from various departments.
Time of India
41 minutes ago
- Time of India
Back on track? Western corridor tries to bypass controversies & green concerns
Bhopal: The western corridor of Bhopal that was cleared by the state govt before 2023 assembly polls, but was stuck after being marred with irregularities, is now slated to take off once again. The project, which was to start from well before Mandideep while coming from Jabalpur side, would now start from after Mandideep towards Bhopal, to avoid controversies that influential people purchased land on sides of the corridor soon after the corridor was announced. Officials said the second issue was environmental concerns from the project, as it moved from close to the catchment area of Upper Lake. To address the issue, the govt has decided to come up with an over bridge at the point where the corridor raised environmental concerns by passing through wetlands. As per the new plan, the corridor would now start after Mandideep while coming towards Bhopal. This would reduce the corridor's length by four kilometers from 42 kms, as originally planned, to 38 kms. There would be a new 500 meters over bridge over Kolans river to avoid protected wetland site on the catchment of upper lake. Officials of the MP road development corporation said the new site selection survey is underway for the project and the work for the Rs 3000 cr project was expected to start after monsoon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Live Comfortably: 60 m² Prefab Bungalow for Seniors in Najaf Pre Fabricated Homes | Search Ads Search Now Undo The agency that was originally finalized to carry out the project would only do the work after the new site selection. The project was expected to give the city its much awaited ring road. Officials said, the 52 kilometers existing by-pass in Bhopal city on national highway 46 starts from Gyarah Mill and ends at Bhauri Bhopal-Indore route. It covers the city from three directions due to which vehicles moving towards Indore have to cover 23 kilometers additional distance. In Oct last year the public works department constituted a four member committee comprising officials of public works dept, representatives of dist collectors concerned and representative of district registrar. The complaint was made to the PMO and the govt of India, ministry of road transport and highway has sent it to the public works department, MP. Officials said the complaint was regarding purchase and sale of land along the proposed by-pass by the officials and issues related to land along the route of proposed western by-pass or corridor. There was no issue in the project and it would take off after a new site selection survey, officials added. The need of a western bypass was felt in the city for a long time. The 38 kilometers western highway would start from close to Mandideep (on Bhopal and Mandideep road) and end on Indore road in village Phanda Kalan. It would be developed with four lane access control criteria and service roads will also be there. As per the initial plan, out of the total project cost worth close to Rs 3000 crore, Rs 427 crore would be for land acquisition, Rs 19 crore for utility shift, Rs 15 crore for environment management, apart from the corridor construction. After development of the western bypass, Mandideep industrial area would get directly linked with industrial capital Indore. Similarly, it is also expected to save time for people moving from Kolar towards Indore. The heavy vehicles coming from Jabalpur and Narmadapuram could move towards Indore from outside of Bhopal that would have saved 23 kilometers of distance and one hour of time. After completion of the west by-pass, the Kolar road and Sehore road (Ratibad village) would witness increased industrial activity and it would also get alternate routes for Indore and Rajgarh. In the project, 6 lane structures with a four lane road and two lane service roads on both sides were planned. One ROB, two flyovers, fifteen underpasses and two major junctions were proposed along the alignment of the route. It was proposed to be constructed on hybrid annuity model- a variant of the PPP model used for implementation of highway projects.
