Double-track railway works are underway between Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram. As part of this, the existing railway overbridge at Nulli Vilai was demolished to construct a new bridge. Work on the bridge began last January and it was stated that the work would be completed within eight months. However, even the work of constructing the bridge pillars has not yet been completed, and the work is proceeding at a very slow pace.
Buses operate through the Thottiyodu–Thingal Sandhai Road, where the new bridge is being constructed, to various places including Thengapattanam, Colachel, Iraniyal, Neyyoor, Karungal and Mandaikadu. The road also serves as a vital link connecting several villages. Vehicles coming along this road have been diverted through Paraseri, Konnakuzhi Vilai, the four-lane highway and Peyayankuzhi. These narrow roads are struggling severely because of traffic congestion.
In particular, buses reach the four-lane highway through the roads on both sides via the Double Karai Canal from Peyayankuzhi Bridge, but this road is full of potholes. As vehicles travelling through this area have met with accidents, drivers have been refusing to operate buses on this route. As a result, buses coming this way are travelling through Thottiyodu, Villukuri, Thuckalay and Iraniyal. While several villages including Nulli Vilai had already been cut off from transport, many more villages are now affected by the lack of transport facilities.
As a result, several thousand people in the area are facing severe hardship, inconvenience, unnecessary travel, loss of time and physical difficulties. Students, people in poor health travelling for treatment, persons with disabilities, women and elderly people are among those affected, with virtually no one able to escape the impact. Similarly, the connecting road from Villukuri Bridge to the four-lane highway is also in a distressing condition without proper attention. Therefore, Samuga Pothunala Iyakkam has urged that these alternative roads be repaired immediately to prevent hardship to the public.
In this connection, under the leadership of General Secretary A.S. Sankarapandian, Kumarikott Secretary M. Alex Moses, Kanyakumari District Coordinator P. Chandra, Kanyakumari (Central) District President I. Kennedy, Secretary D. Devadas, Organising Secretary V. Gopalakrishnan, Deputy Presidents V. Rexin Rajkumar and J. Joseph Leenos, Deputy Secretary R. Rajadurai, Treasurer S. Vikraman, Thuckalay Union Farmers’ Wing Secretary A. Ganapathi and other office-bearers met the Kanyakumari District Collector and submitted a petition.
Headquarters,
Samuga Pothunala Iyakkam.
