Cyclone Fengal: The newly constructed bridge across Thenpannai River connecting Agrampallipattu and Thondamaanur in Tiruvannamalai district suffered damages on November 30 and December 1. The bridge was damaged in the event of heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Fengal. The bridge, built at the cost of Rs 15.90 crore, was opened for traffic only on September 2, 2024.
Against this backdrop, on Tuesday, Tamil Nadu government said that the bridge collapsed due to the overflow of Thenpennai River. However, the Opposition parties, BJP and AIADMK, held the DMK-led government responsible for the alleged substandard construction that caused the bridge collapse in Tiruvannamalai.
TN BJP chief K Annamalai said, "The cost of this bridge was Rs 18 crore and its life span was 90 days. We are sure that the DMK Government would award more contracts to the firm that constructed this bridge. The DMK Govt’s functioning in the last three years only points to such remarkable decision-making. Zero responsibility, Zero accountability."
On the bridge collapse, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami too blamed DMK government and urged the state to construct quality bridges instead of practicing "collection-commission-corruption".
Edappadi said: "16 Crore Bridge constructed by DMK Government across Tenpenna River between Agarampallipattu-Thondamanur near Sengam in Thiruvannamalai District was inaugurated on 02.09.2024. The bridge, which was supposed to stand for a long time, was swept away and completely broken in just 90 days in a single flood."
"This incident is a testimony to the poor quality of the bridges being built under this DMK regime. I strongly condemn the @mkstalin DMK government for not ensuring that the bridges across the river are strong enough for public travel. I urge the DMK government to take this bridge as a lesson and not play with people's lives, but to build quality bridges instead of following their mantra of collection-commission-corruption," he added.