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Indian Air Force grounds bridge over Adyar river - The Times of India

The Indian Air Force's claim to a plot of land on the banks of the Adyar in Anakaputhur in Kancheepuram district has scuttled a bridge over the river that would have provided a vital link between Anakaputhur and Tharapakkam in Kancheepuram district.

Construction of the Rs 4.5 crore bridge began in March 2010. According to the original plan, the project was to be completed by March 2011. The project was rescheduled and the deadline extended to September 2011, a month ahead of the onset of northeast monsoon last year. But the bridge has been left half-built since air force officials objected to the project in May 2011.

The bridge would have solved a decades-old problem for people on both sides of the river. For generations, residents of over a dozen localities including Eradamkattalai, Kovur, Gerugambakkam and Tharapakkam have had to cross the river to get to the city via Anakaputhur and Pallavaram. Vehicles have to take a much longer route of around 8km via Kundrathur.

Residents of localities on the Tharapakkam side often find themselves in a race against time during medical emergencies, when patients have to be rushed to hospitals on the other side of the river.

According to the highways department, a team of officials from IAF station in Tambaram said 980sqft of land on the banks of the river in Tharapakkam belongs to the ministry of defence. The air force officials said the state highways department would have to get a go-ahead from the ministry before going ahead with the project.

The bridge was to be 250 metres long (with the approach roads at both ends), 7 metres high and 12 metres wide. The highways department has completed work on the bridge on the Tharapakkam side.