Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (MS)
Udupi, Feb 25: Local gram panchayat has closed the hanging bridge between Kemmannu Padukudru and Timmana Kudru as it is dilapidated and become dangerous to walk on. Now the Udupi wing of Cochin Shipyard that operates from Malpe fish port is going to repair the same.
The inspection of the dilapidated bridge was done by panchayat raj engineer Srinath, manager of Cochin shipyard Shashikant Kotian, civil engineer Girish Bharadwaj and representatives of Bharat Nirman team.
The cost of repair of the hanging bridge is estimated at Rs 50 lac. Gram panchayat president Latha, PDO Kamala, secretary Dinkar, personnel Santhosh, Prakash, members Asha, Yashoda, Hyder Ali and Dr Fahim Abdulla were present during the inspection.
As new bridge is built for vehicle transport, this bridge is used only for tourist purposes. Kayaking and boating are taking place near the bridge. Tourists were disappointed as the hanging bridge is closed.
At the most, 15 to 20 people can stand on the hanging bridge at a time. However, as no one was there to take care hundreds of tourists used to stand on it at a time. As a result the hanging bridge got damaged over a period of time.
This hanging bridge which is near to Malpe and Hoode beaches attracts thousands of tourists on Saturday and Sunday. Many of the tourists take photoshoot on the bridge without giving any attention to safety measures. Moreover, the bridge used to bend to one side when it was crowded. So the access to public was stopped.