A hanging bridge of discord

KOCHI: One of the longest hanging bridges in the state, the Enjathotti hanging bridge over River Periyar, has started triggering trouble even before its formal inauguration. The bridge built at a cost of around Rs 1.6 crore connects the far-flung villages of Enjathotti and Palamattam, which were hitherto connected only by canoes.But the residents of Enjathotti now stand divided over the using of the bridge. The bridge with a capacity of 2000 kg was originally designed for the use of pedestrians alone. But once the work on the bridge has been completed, even the motorcyclists from the area started using the bridge. During the inspection of the bridge by District Collector P I Sheik   Pareeth some of the villagers had complained to him about the motorcyclists and the Collector had promised corrective action. “It has been decided to erect poles on both sides of the bridge to prevent the motorbikes from entering the bridge. Since the bridge is narrow, the journey of motorbikes through the bridge will adversely affect the movement of pedestrians,” said the Collector. However, many of the villagers have now raised objections saying that banning the motorcyclists from using the bridge would defeat the purpose of the bridge.  “Majority of the villagers are against the move to ban motorcycles on the bridge. Only a small section of the villagers are opposing the use of motorbikes on the bridge. There are around a hundred people who use motorbikes in the villages. These people will have to travel an additional distance of 15 to 20 km if they are denied the use of the hanging bridge. Earlier, there used to be regular canoe service across the river. But after the bridge became operational, the canoe service was stopped. So the motorcyclists are now left with no option but to take the circuitous route,” said Enjathotti ward member Sindhu Anil. The motorists argue that since bridge has a capacity of 2000 kg, a few motorbikes will not cause any damage to it.