A damaged pedestrian footbridge at the Medical Centre Junction on the National Highway bypass in Palarivattom, Kochi, has triggered a protest by the Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena’s Thrikkakara constituency committee, which said pedestrians are being forced to cross the road dangerously because the structure has not been restored for use.
According to a report by Kerala Kaumudi, the footbridge was used by thousands of people before it was damaged after being hit by a vehicle. The structure has since remained unusable, leaving pedestrians without the protected crossing that previously served the busy junction.
The protesters said women are among those crossing the road in hazardous conditions. The report did not specify when the vehicle collision occurred, the extent of the structural damage or the agency responsible for repairing and reopening the footbridge.
The issue was raised at a meeting organised by the BDJS Thrikkakara constituency committee. K.S. Vijayan, a state committee member, inaugurated the meeting. Advocate J. Ashokan, the constituency president, presided over it.
District general secretary M.P. Jineesh, organisation general secretary C. Satheeshan, M.S. Dileep Kumar, Advocate Kishore Kumar, Deepa Vijayan, Dhanya Shaji and Suresh Babu Vennala were among those who addressed the gathering, the report said.
A pedestrian footbridge at a bypass junction is intended to separate people on foot from fast-moving traffic. When such infrastructure becomes unusable, pedestrians may have to make road-level crossings even where traffic volumes and vehicle speeds make them difficult or unsafe. The report specifically linked the condition of the footbridge to the risks faced by people crossing the road at the junction.
The protest places the condition of the structure on the local public agenda, but the supplied report does not include a response from the National Highways Authority, the state government, the local administration, the police or any other agency responsible for the road and footbridge. It also does not state whether a repair estimate, inspection or reopening schedule has been issued.
The immediate demand raised by the protest was that the footbridge be made usable again. Until the structure is repaired or an alternative safe crossing is provided, pedestrians at the Medical Centre Junction remain exposed to road traffic while crossing the bypass, according to the report. No official restoration timeline was provided.
