150 new bridges constructed in four-and-a-half years: Minister

Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said that with the opening of two more bridges this month, the number of such structures constructed in the four-and-a-half-year tenure of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government will reach 150.

He was at Chembukadavu in Kodenchery grama panchayat in Kozhikode district to open a new bridge there. The Minister said that the government had earlier planned to construct 100 bridges in its five-year tenure. A special committee was formed to check the status of bridges that would play a crucial role in the development of the State. Such activities had led to the completion of 150 new bridges, he said.

About the collapse of an under-construction bridge at Thorayikadavu near Koyilandy, Mr. Riyas said that official action would be taken against the guilty based on the report of the Kerala Road Fund Board. The proposed tunnel road project connecting Wayanad and Kozhikode would boost the agricultural and tourism sectors, he added. The new bridge at Chembukadavu across the Chalippuzha is 55 metres long and 7.5 metres wide.