CHENNAI :  Meenakshi (65), a traditional fisherwoman from Edamani Colony in Pasiyavaram Island, has to wade through knee-deep water every day in order to reach Pazhaverkadu or Pulicat to sell her catch. Her daughter does the same to go to college in Ponneri. Every day, thousands take this risk as part of their daily routine. It may sound unusual, but the truth is that Pasiyavaram Island, inhabited by 18,000 people, has no road connectivity, with water on all four sides. However, their ordeal may end soon. 

The state’s Highways Department (HD) has proposed to construct a high-level bridge connecting Pulicat main road and the island. Though, the proposal for the bridge is over a decade old and the project was stonewalled on multiple occasions due to environment concerns, sources in the highways department told Express that work would be commencing very soon as all the formalities had been completed, pending Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance from the Union environment ministry.

G Dhakshinamoothy, HD’s Divisional Engineer in Tiruvallur,  last week submitted a Marine Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report to the ministry and applied for urgent grant of CRZ clearance to commence the work. In June this year, the ministry had asked the department to submit a supplementary marine EIA, factoring in the bird sanctuary and extent of obstruction of free flow of water in the Pulicat lake due to the construction of the proposed bridge. 

Sources said the project is likely to be considered in next Expert Appraisal Committee of the ministry for grant of CRZ clearance. The state government had already accorded administrative sanction of `15 cr under Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme in 2007-08 and later revised it to `18.20 cr in 2015.  

When Express visited the island on Saturday, the fishermen lamented that successive governments gad failed to fulfill the promise of constructing the bridge. The island has five villages — Sathankuppam, Edamani, Edamani Colony, Rahmat Nagar and Pasiyavaram — falling in two panchayat limits. It has two primary schools, temple and pucca roads, but no hospital. The Pulicat lake is to its north, the Kosasthalaiyar River merges with Buckingham canal in the east and south, and to its west, it has a rain water drainage canal, with a radius of around 400 metres. Though there is a temporary mud road, people find it inconvenient to walk on and this road also goes underwater during monsoon. 

Women and young girls find it uncomfortable to wade through the water as their clothes get wet. “At times, we have to deal with unsavory comments. When water level rises, it become much more difficult. We take boats spending `20 per trip,” Kalavathi, a 10th standard student said. 

Fishermen leader Durai Mahendran told Express that there were instances in the past when pregnant woman and schoolchildren died when their boat capsized. “In 2015, four school children got injured when the boat capsized. Fortunately, they were pulled out of water by fishermen,” he said.  Tiruvallur district authorities said that during the 2015 floods, the island was completely cut-off and providing medical aid also proved to be difficult. “There is no escape route for people confined here in case of emergency,” a official from disaster management authority said. 

No environment damage
P Chandramohan, managing director of Indomer Coastal Hydraulics Pvt Ltd, which conducts Marian EIA, said the project site doesn’t fall within the Pulicat sanctuary Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ). “No impact on Pulicat sanctuary is anticipated,” he said. Also, the bridge is proposed where the tidal water is less influenced and only the monsoon rainwater draining is noticed during November to January. “The location is so selected that it will not affect the free flow of tidal water along the circulatory hydrodynamic system caused by Pulicat lake and Ennore creek through the Kosasthalaiyar river and Buckingham canal. The tidal flow at bridge location is almost negligible,” he said.

Project details

High Level Bridge will be 432 metres long and 8.5 metres wide. It will connect Pulicat road and Pasiyavaram island 
Considering the possibility of abnormal flow during tsunami and heavy floods even to the tune of 3000 cum/sec, vertical clearance of 1.20 m has been proposed in abutments locations and pier locations 
The proposed bridge will serve as an all-weather road to the islanders