Title - Flyover will help us reach school on time: students

The State Highways and Minor Ports Department in association with the Southern Railway had constructed the flyover at Rs. 15.12 crore.When there used to be a railway gate in Sundarapuram on the Sundarapuram – Madukkarai Road, the students suffered the most. There were occasions they used to be late to the school and suffered punishments.Even a five-minute delay on the students’ part invited the wrath of the school authorities, recalls S. Indumathi, a Standard X student of a government school there.Between the students and their effort to reach the school in time stood the Sundarapuram railway gate. As long as the gate was there, the students were tensed, says her classmate M. Sajith.The students’ tension is understandable as the number of times the gate comes down on both sides of the track is quite high. It is around 80, says M. Perumalsamy, chairman, South Zone, Coimbatore Corporation.As harried as the students were vegetable vendors and farmers, who had their market on the north of the railway track. Worst among them were the tomato traders, who had their business in the Sundarapuram tomato market.To reach the market or customers in time was impossible when the gates were down. And every wait equalled 12 to 15 rotations of the minute hand on the clock. What was worse was that the students, farmers, vendors and residents, to cross over to the other side, had to factor in the movement of goods train as well. For, the timings of goods train are not as well-known as that of passenger trains, he adds.Now the people on both sides of the track can breathe easy, thanks to the flyover the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa inaugurated through video conferencing from Chennai on Tuesday.The flyover measures 746.98 m in length. The department accorded administrative sanction on November 13, 2007 for Rs. 20 crore, then revised the estimate to Rs. 14.05 crore in its technical sanction. The department finally issued the work in February 2010, asking the contractor to complete the work in 18 months. At the inauguration District Collector M. Karunagaran told the Chief Minister that the flyover would enable the Sundarapuram – Madukkarai Road to serve as an alternative to the Coimbatore – Pollachi Road. Around 50,000 people are likely to be benefitted.As part of the programme, the Chief Minister also inaugurated a bridge across River Noyyal on the Iruttupallam – Poondi stretch.The cost of the bridge was Rs. 2.53 crore.