Cylone Fengal: With causeway washed away and bridge work stalled, Tiruvallur villages remain cutoff

TIRUVALLUR: The cyclone has dissipated and rains have subsided, but children in three villages on the banks of Kosasthalaiyar in Tiruvallur are unable to attend school after the floods damaged the causeway that they took to cross the river while a new bridge is still in the works even after eight years.

The release of surplus water from the Ammapalli dam in Andhra Pradesh triggered a flood in Kosasthalaiyar, which washed away the only causeway in Kuppam Kandigai on Sunday. Now, more than 200 families and 60 school students in Kuppam Kandigai, Kaliyanur and Melvilagam villages have only two options: either use a railway bridge that is dangerous to cross the river or stay home.

At least 20 children from Melvilagam studying in the Government Higher Secondary School in Vidaiyur and a private school, were forced to skip school for the last two days. "I am not able to attend schools though mid-term exams are scheduled to start on December 9,” said a Class 10 student from the village.

Vanitha of Kuppam Kandigai rued how her son, a Class 11 student of Government Higher Secondary School in Vidaiyur, has to walk two km via the railway bridge to reach the school.

Villagers of Kaliyanur and Melvilagam said they were facing hardships when the Kosasthalaiyar overflows every monsoon. “The construction of the bridge in Kaliyanur started in 2016-17 but it remains incomplete. Last year, a few students fell from the bridge while trying to climb using a rope,” said Angamuthu of Vidaiyur.

Nemiliagaram panchayat president Vijayalakshmi Damodaran said the work on the bridge at Melvilagam, which started last year, is progressing briskly and is likely to be completed soon.

When asked, Tiruvallur MLA VG Rajendran said a tender would soon be floated to construct a bridge in place of the damaged causeway. He added that the work on the two bridges would also be completed soon.

Selvakumar, another resident, being cut off from the town has affected the farmers who cultivated vegetables and paddy in the surrounding villages. “Vegetable farmers are severely affected after the causeway was washed away, as they were forced to take a circuitous route via Perambakkam to reach Tiruvallur to sell their produce,” he said.

Even as they are upset over the damage to the causeway, what has made the residents angry is the snail-paced construction of two bridges across Kosasthalaiyar. The bridges across Kosasthalaiyar in Vidaiyur village, which remain only partially constructed, would connect Kaliyanur and Melvilagam with the Tiruvallur district headquarters.