Minister Duraimurugan lays stone for bridge across Palar

VELLORE: Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan on Friday laid the foundation stone for a 3.2 km long bridge bridge across the Palar, connecting Kangeyanallur on the Katpadi side and Sathuvachary in Vellore, to be built at a cost of Rs 90.66 crore.

The Water Resources Minister said the bridge will save commuters 8 kilometers of distance and benefit around 1.17 lakh commuters daily. Duraimurugan stated that the DMK government is reviving the project, which was pending for more than ten years.

Meanwhile, the minister said that a 100-bed hospital will start to function within a month at nearby Serkadu, immensely benefiting the public. This would help locals avoid 12 kilometres of travel to reach the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital at Adukkamparai on the Tiruvannamalai road, he said.

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister EV Velu, taking part in the launch event, said 780 of the 1,281 ground-level causeways in the state had been converted into regular bridges to avoid flooding during monsoons. EV Velu said that works on converting another 275 causeways are underway while the remaining 226 causeways would soon be taken up.

The PWD has allocated Rs 90 crore to the highways department for the construction of bridges in Vellore district to reduce traffic congestion and another Rs 80 crore for similar work on rural roads, he added.

Similarly, works are underway to construct ring roads in 17 locations in the state to reduce traffic bottlenecks while land acquisition is being taken up for 58 ring roads, the minister said.

Highways Department Additional Chief Secretary Pradeep Yadav, Collector VR Subbulaxmi, MLAs P Karthikeyan, AP Nandakumar and Amulu Vijayan, Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar and Deputy Mayor M Sunil Kumar were also present at the launch event.