Pulpally: It’s been two decades since the boat tragedy that claimed the lives of eight persons had happened in the mighty Kabani River on the border area. The wedding party that met with the accident was crossing the river in a boat as there wasn’t a bridge. Eight persons who were residents of Malabar Shed, the Malayali village in HD Kota had lost lives after their boat capsized.

Tragedy struck on November 6, 2005, when they had come to the bride’s house at Marakkadavu depot in Mullankolli panchayat, to attend the engagement of another resident of Malabar Shed. The authorities then promised to build a bridge across the Kabani River which is crossed by hundreds of people every day.

The ministers from both Kerala and Karnataka as well as other elected representatives who visited the spot had promised to build a bridge at Marakkadavu besides the proposed Bairakuppa bridge. Besides, the Kerala government vowed to construct a hanging bridge which could be used until the bridge is built. The foundation stone of the Bairakuppa bridge was laid on September 24, 1994 by the then chief ministers of Kerala and Karnataka K Karunakaran and M Veerappa Moily respectively. The event had made headlines as the public and elected representatives from both the states had gathered at Marakkadavu to witness the event.

However, Bairakuppa bridge later became nothing but a forgotten promise made during the election season. The bridge would become a matter of active discussion whenever there is an election around the corner, but would soon fall into oblivion after the election gets over. Although many leaders have made countless bombastic claims, there has not been any progress in the construction of the bridge. The broken memorial slab that was found abandoned on the river bank was recently repaired. Now, the slab remains a ‘sweet’ memory of the bridge that was never constructed.

It was the forest department that had objected to building the bridge at Bairakuppa. It has been categorically proven, using valid documents that the approach road is on the revenue land. Meanwhile, discussions about building a new bridge at Marakkadavu has gathered momentum. An approach road won’t be required if the bridge is constructed here.

There are roads without forest on the sides on both banks of the river. Besides, there are several roads in this area that goes to various directions. The area from Machoor to the riverside is in fact revenue land. Meanwhile, people have been urging the authorities to consider building the bridge at Marakkadavu if it is impossible to construct the bridge at Bairakuppa.