The "Pathimoonnu kannara palam" for the meter gauge railway was constructed under British regime using surki instead of cement. The bridge has 13 arches which add tourist attraction to the area. The 108 yrs old bridge has become a symbol ofthe British engineering marvel and thus the local people wanted Rlys to retain this bridge as it is while the gauge conversion ( into B.G ) work was taken up in the Punalur - Chengottah ( Sengottai) - M.G.section. This M.G section under gauge construction is delayed mainly due to the difficult terrain wherein the line pass through valleys of mountains at both sides, crossing gorges and tunnels. The big tasks are widening or reconstruction of bridges and tunnels. This particular bridge connecting two hills over the Kollam – Thirumangalam National Highway. It became significant because of its beauty and the celluloid history while it was a major spot for shooting scenes in films of many languages. The whole Kollam ( Quilon) district ( Kerala State , INDIA) was involved in protecting the bridge and avoids it getting demolished to facilitate for conversion of the railway into broad gauge. Local residents and schools children formed the forum and invited engineering students to see the bridge so as to put forth suggestions to the Southern Railway. Kannara Bridge Protection Forum had conducted seminars wherein engineering students had submitted project papers. The Forum had petitioned to President, Prime Minister and Railway Minister showing their their concern on the monumental bridge and the need for retaining the same while the gauge conversion is carried out.. Finally Southern Railway had accepted the proposal of local people to retain the bridge and it will be upgraded for B.G but the front portion of the bridge will have the old appearance. While giving the concrete cover to the pillars, the old square stones will be used to cover the same, The Kannara Bridge protection Forum’s President A T Philip is the person behind the campaign for retaining the heritage bridge.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 19:11:42 +0000
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