Mangaluru
The decade-old demand of residents in Uliya Island and Pavoor village for a permanent bridge, continues to be a distant dream.
People on the island, which is located around 8 kms from the City, have been demanding a permanent bridge for the past several years. Since, the island has no proper connectivity, residents build a 900-foot-long temporary bridge using wooden logs across Nethravati river every year, but it gets washed away during the rainy season.
Suchithra Laveena D’Souza, a resident of the Island, told that every year, residents of the island build a temporary wooden footbridge during summer. There are nearly 200 residents from 35 families, who are residing here. Each of the families will contribute Rs 3,000 for the construction of the footbridge. The money collected from tourists, who use the bridge, was also kept for the purpose. Families on the island pool money to pay the boatman for six months during the rainy season, she said.
The island is part of the constituency represented by speaker UT Khader. She said that the MLA had visited the island recently and had promised to construct a hanging bridge.We have been demanding a permanent bridge at least for light vehicles. Currently, we have no option to shift patients and depend only on boats during the rainy season. Constructing a hanging bridge will not be a permanent solution, she said.
When asked, UT Khader told media persons that a proposal to construct a hanging bridge at an estimated cost of Rs 12 crore has already been submitted to the government. Residents of the village have been demanding a permanent bridge. However, we have now proposed a hanging bridge, he added.
