Kumarakom: For a handful of families living beside the recently opened Konathattu Bridge, the completion of the bridge has brought not relief, but isolation.

Cut off from the main road, residents and shop owners on the northern side of the bridge's western end have been left stranded without any access road, bringing their daily lives to a standstill. Shop owners Sreeja and Pushpa and the families of James and Jiji are among those facing severe hardship due to the lack of access.

An eatery that once functioned in the area has remained closed for the past three years since the bridge construction began, while an electrical shop has also been forced to shut down. Residents are now in a situation where they do not even have a pathway to step out of their homes, including to take patients to the hospital.

During visits by KIIFB officials and public representatives to review the progress of the bridge works, the affected families repeatedly flagged the issue of access and were assured that the road would be set right after the bridge was completed. However, once the bridge was completed, the approach road was laid in a manner that runs directly adjacent to their houses and establishments, effectively cutting off access.

As the houses and commercial establishments now lie below the approach road, access to them has been completely blocked. Earlier, residents and shop owners could directly enter the Kumarakom Road from their homes and establishments. But now, they do not even have a pedestrian pathway.

The bridge construction began on November 1, 2022 and was completed and opened to traffic in October last year. Despite several months having passed since vehicles began using the bridge, no decision has yet been taken on restoring access.

Officials say a road cannot be built without land acquisition, even though the bridge itself was constructed without acquiring land.

The residents are now demanding at least a road that allows autorickshaws to reach their homes. A motorable access road is essential for transporting patients to hospitals and for delivering goods to the eatery and electrical establishment, they point out.

An attempt was earlier made to construct a road along the canal on the northern side from Hospital Road, but this could not proceed due to legal issues. Under the present circumstances, land acquisition appears unavoidable for providing access, unless permission is granted to construct a road along the canal. Panchayat president A P Gopi and ward member K G Binu visited the site the other day.