The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : British-era Bagalur bridge in Hosur cries for attention

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 24, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

British-era Bagalur bridge in Hosur cries for attention

S. Prasad

Traffic snarls a regular occurrence

HOSUR: The bridge of the British era at Bagalur near here, gateway to the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, lies in a dilapidated stage. The narrow bridge, not repaired for decades, poses a serious threat to the life of motorists and causes frequent traffic chaos. Built across thes Thenpennaiar River and located on the NH-207 it is one of the main links between the state and Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Vehicles proceeding to Malur, Kolar and Kuppam in Andhra Pradesh have to pass through this bridge only.

With thousand vehicles passing every day the bridge now lies battered. As the bridge is very narrow only one vehicle can pass at a time causing frequent traffic snarls. In addition the heavy traffic, especially speeding vehicles, has become a nightmare to motorists and pedestrians. Due to lack of space for motorists accidents occur frequently claiming lives. "The bridge has claimed the lives of two motorists in the past one week alone. With lack of space to pass through they were crushed to death by heavy vehicles on the bridge itself. Though we have staged repeated demonstrations to repair the bridge no action has been taken to repair it till now", says Jayaraman, a villager. "As the bridge is very narrow it was not appropriate for heavy motor vehicles to use it. The entry of heavy vehicles and container lorries has made it more risky to travel on it. With government schools located on the other side of the bridge students have to use this bridge only. The entry of heavy vehicles could be curtailed taking into account the accidents that occur on a regular basis", says Chinnapaiyan, a mechanic. Vehicles, proceeding from Malur to Hosur, have to pass through Bangalore and those entering Bagalur have to pass through Krishnagiri travelling an extra distance of 60 km.

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