A damaged pedestrian overbridge at the Palarivattom Medical Centre junction on Kochi’s National Highway bypass remains unusable, prompting the Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena’s Thrikkakara constituency committee to protest the continued lack of access for pedestrians.
The footbridge was reportedly used by thousands of people before it was damaged after being hit by a vehicle. With the structure no longer usable, pedestrians, including women, are being forced to cross the highway at road level, according to the report by Kerala Kaumudi – Kochi.
The protest was organised to demand that the pedestrian overbridge be made fit for use. The report did not specify when the bridge was damaged, the extent of the structural damage, or whether a repair or restoration order has been issued by the authority responsible for the bypass and the junction.
The issue centres on the safety gap created when a dedicated pedestrian facility becomes unavailable on a highway corridor. The protest organisers said the crossing has become dangerous because people must navigate vehicle traffic instead of using the overbridge. The report did not provide details of any accident involving pedestrians after the bridge became unusable.
K.S. Vijayan, a member of the BDJS state committee, inaugurated the protest meeting. The meeting was presided over by Adv. J. Ashokan, president of the party’s Thrikkakara constituency committee. District general secretary M.P. Jineesh, organisational general secretary C. Satheeshan, M.S. Dileep Kumar, Adv. Kishore Kumar, Deepa Vijayan, Dhanya Shaji and Suresh Babu Vennala also addressed the gathering, according to the report.
The location is identified as the Medical Centre junction on the National Highway bypass in Palarivattom, a road environment where the availability of a safe pedestrian crossing is central to how people move between adjoining areas. The report does not state whether the bridge is owned or maintained by the National Highways Authority of India, the state government, the local administration or another agency.
No official response from the highway authority, local administration or police was included in the report. It also did not mention a tender, repair estimate, completion deadline or temporary traffic-management arrangement. The immediate demand raised at the protest was for the pedestrian overbridge to be restored and made usable again.
