The Deccan Chronicle 11.08.2010
Residents want bridge across PoongaAug. 10: While the residents of Mandaveli, Greenways Road and R.A. Puram see Adyar Poonga Eco Park as a blessing to their neighbourhood, the delay in construction of the over bridge across the Poonga has annoyed the residents of Karpagam Avenue.
“We have been facing hardship for the last four months since the demolition of the existing bridge as it was the main link between Karpagam Avenue and Mandaveli,” says Mr Aditya Narayan, a local resident. “Since the bridge closed, I have been paying Rs 60 as auto charge everyday to my housemaid who lives on the other side of the bridge,” he said.
Several other residents in the neighbourhood also complained of increase in their monthly expenses due to closure of the bridge.
Officials of the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Fund (TNUDF), the organisation that manages the Poonga project, blamed the unexpected rains and the loose soil for the slipped datelines. “Rain hampered construction work at the bridge since a large amount of water flows under it to the sea.
Besides, the soil was loose and unfit for construction which forced us to rework the bridge into a concrete one against a wooden structure that was proposed earlier,” said TNUDF MD & CEO Mr K. Phanindra Reddy.
“The bridge construction would be complete by the end of the month,” he added.
