Kosasthalaiyar causeway in Kadambathur closed due to rain damage

TIRUVALLUR: The Mappedu police have cordoned off the causeway connecting either side of the Kosasthalaiyar in Kadambathur, following the incessant rains. It has forced people living in and around the area to travel over 10 km using alternate routes to reach the other side.

Following the red alert issued owing to the continuous downpour over the past three days, several areas in Chennai and its surrounding districts like Tiruvallur, Ranipet and Kancheepuram are bearing the brunt of water stagnation. The incessant rains have caused the rivers and lakes in several places to overflow and have also damaged a portion of the causeway connecting Kosasthalaiyar thereby putting the residents of the area into a lot of hardship.

While a large portion of the causeway has submerged under water, one end of it has been damaged in the rain and so the Mappedu police, considering the risk it poses to people crossing it, have cut access to the causeway by putting metal barricades around it. “The rapidly rising water levels in the Cooum river can completely damage the causeway at any moment so it is unsafe for people to cross it. So we have closed the bridge on either side,” police said.

This decision has forced the motorists living around the river to travel 10 km in alternate routes to reach places like Kondancherry, Mappedu, Cooum, Kumaracherry, Irulacherry, Thandalam and Poonamallee.

Tiruvallur sub-collector Mahabharathi along with other officials inspected the damaged causeway and has discussed the measures needed to be taken to fix the connectivity issue.