Erumely: The long-awaited demand of the residents of the remote hill settlements of Arayanjilimannu, Kurumbanmoozhi, and Manakkayam in Pathanamthitta district for pedestrian bridges across the Pamba river is finally being met by the state government.

Minister for SC/ST and Backward Class Welfare O R Kelu will inaugurate the construction of two new bridges at Arayanjilimannu and Kurumbanmoozhi on September 11. Pramod Narayanan, MLA, will preside over the function.

Arayanjilimannu and Kurumbanmoozhi are villages surrounded by forest on three sides and the Pamba river on the other. At present, residents of these villages are connected to the outside world only by a causeway across the river. However, this causeway gets submerged during the monsoon, cutting off the settlements. The two new footbridges are intended to address this issue and will also be designed to allow the passage of small ambulances.

Notably, a bridge had existed at Arayanjilimannu until August 15, 2018, but it was destroyed when logs carried by floodwaters wrecked the structure. Although a plan was later prepared to rebuild the bridge with people’s participation, it was not pursued after the MLA assured that the Scheduled Tribe Development Department would provide the necessary funds.

The construction date was finalised after authorities sanctioned ₹3.97 crore for the Kurumbanmoozhi bridge and ₹2.68 crore for the project at Arayanjilimannu. The work is scheduled for completion within eight months.