Bridges in Vaigai River

S.Rengasamy
Faculty Member
Madurai Institute of Social Sciences
Acknowledgements:
Bridges in Vaigai River was written with the field work support by Mr. Karunakaran (Community Development
2001- 2003 Batch of MSW) and modified for this article. All the photographs for this article are taken by
Udayakumar (Community Development 2005-2007 Batch) of MSW.

Bridge is a structure, usually of wood, stone, brick, or iron, erected over a river or other water course,
or over a chasm, railroad, etc., to make a passageway from one bank to the other. Bridges have
become an indispensable adjunct of the modern transport system. Though bridges are physical
structures, it makes serious alterations in human consciousness. If there is no structure or facility to
overcome a physical barrier, everyone in his or her attempt to overcome it develops a conscious of
their own, thereby develop a unique consciousness of their own. When a man crosses a river through
boats or by lay foot, he is very much conscious that he is crossing a river. But when he crosses the
river using a bridge, he loses the same consciousness. A bridge is a gain as well as a loss

A structure built to provide ready passage over natural or artificial obstacles, or under another
passageway. Bridges serve highways, railways, canals, aqueducts, utility pipelines, and
pedestrian walkways. In many jurisdictions, bridges are defined as those structures spanning an
arbitrary minimum distance, generally about 10–20 ft (3–6 m); shorter structures are classified
as culverts or tunnels. In addition, natural formations eroded into bridge like form are often
called bridges. This article covers only bridges providing conventional transportation
passageways.

Bridges with all its indispensability have a sedative value also. Helping us to forget the barriers that
we are subjected to. But we have to remember that it is that barrier, be a river or a mountain has its
own intrinsic value and it is a barrier only in certain aspects. A river may be a barrier, obstructing our
mobility, but it at the same time it enables us in other ways. But alas, the barrier overcoming
structures slowly make us to forget the intrinsic value of the barrier. This forgetfulness of one’s
intrinsic value by using bridges slowly creates other problems.

Bridges over the rivers have side effects like

medicine…it cures certain illness but at the same time it
brings new ailments.
This logic is applicable to the bridges constructed across
the Vaigai River running within the Madurai city. Bridges
over Vaigai helped the city to expand, provided
dynamism to city life. Since a bridge across a River is an
important landmark in a city like Madurai, apart from
transport, bridges are also used creatively in a different
ways…. to threaten and intimidate the people, to show
one’s strength by blocking the bridge, to advertise, to
make propaganda and for ordinary people to generate
livelihoods. Furthermore, it is rumored that the
construction of bridges across the river has provided an
opportunity for graft and corruption.
If we take a bridge is a public investment, it definitely
creates a multiplier effect. What impact the bridges over
Over bridges are built between the two
banks of the river at height above the
maximum flood level (mfl). The
middle and upper class people who
cross the river through their fast
moving vehicles do not have even an
iota of consciousness that they are
crossing a river. On the other hand
the causeways (ground bridges) help
the poor people to recognize and make
use of it either properly or improperly,
the vacant spaces that have been
provided by these bridges. Moreover
these, causeways have generated
livelihood opportunities for the low-
income groups by accessing the river
easily.

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the river Vaigai have created? Understanding the bridges in Madurai is necessary to understand the
ancient yet this emerging modern city.

The bridges across river Vaigai can be classified into three categories as follows:
1. Over bridges
2. Cause ways
3. Railway bridges (1985, 1995)

Over bridges in Vaigai River:

Over the past 120 years five over bridges have been built across the Vaigai River running in the
Madurai City. The details of these bridges and its utility are given below.

Albert Victor Over Bridge: (1889)

One of the important landmarks in Madurai City is Albert Victor Bridge. Although it is more than a
century old since it was built, it stands with majesticity. It is named after the engineer Albert Victor
who designed it. It is strange that in these days, politicians when keep on changing the old British
names of public places have not attempted to alter the name of this bridge.

Famous Albert Victor Bridge, the oldest link between North and South Madurai. River Vaigai flows
from West to East and divides Madurai into North Madurai and South Madurai.
Apart from some obscure causeways, this AV Bridge was the main link between North and South
Madurai for a number of years. It is Madurai’s Brooklyn Bridge.
Many of the Maduraiites do not know that the warranty period for the Bridge is over. The English
Engineer gave it a life of a hundred years and now it is 120 years old, but is still in a good
condition. It is an integral part of our lives. I am posting a picture of the bridge here.
On the advice of experts the load on AV Bridge has been cut into half by building another bridge
parallel to it for traffic flowing from South to North.
It is a thrilling experience to walk on the side platform on the bridge when vehicles are swishing
past you in great speed. And there is also a problem. Almost all people cross the bridge only in
vehicles. Even the low-income group uses a bus to cross the bridge. Only the poorest of the poor
walk over the bridge.
When you walk on the bridge people always tend to look down on you. People looking from the
windows of the buses, throw sympathetic looks at you. At first it was embarrassing for me. But
then I thought that this feeling of embarrassment is part of the penance.
Varalotti. Indus Ladies,com

This bridge has contributed in a greater measure for the growth of the Madurai City over the years.
Today this Bridge is converted into one way traffic zone. In those old days when there was no traffic
congestion, the bridge was used as a bus stop. Even 20 years before the slow moving vehicles such
as cycles, cycle rickshaws and bullock carts have been prohibited from using this bridge. The ban has
made several types of vehicles obsolete and demands
were made from time to time to lift such a ban.

As this bridge is an important traffic junction, it is

There may be bridges exist in the world.
Tallest, Longest, Shortest. But for
Maduraites, bridge means it is Victor
Bridge over River Vaigai.
customary for political parties to create roadblocks and
causing transport bottlenecks on this bridge in order to
attract attention of the government and the Madurai
public. By blocking this bridge, many organizations
have used this as a strategy to get into the negotiating
table.
This bridge has been considered as an auspicious one
so for. Speeding vehicles during its entire checkered
history of 120 years have not fallen into the river by
damaging the parapet walls of the bridge.

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Many intellectuals have been drawn unaware towards the beauty, grace majesticity and breadth of
this bridge. This enchantment towards the bridge has made them to praise the engineering expertise
of the colonial era.

“There is no peer for the Britishers; they had built better bridges than our present day engineers.”
Such is the common refrain among the Madurai City dwellers while commenting on the design and
standard of the modern bridges built by Indian engineers. This bridge has been quoted as an
example of British technical excellence.

When Lord Azhagar descends on River Vaigai, Thousands and thousands of people witness this
spectacle from this bridge. Also when Vaigai River is in spate, people rejoice the floodwaters from
over this bridge. Writing advertisements on the walls of this bridge has been prohibited. When there
was no such ban, the Dravidar Kazhagam, which is not a political party and other progressive political
movements have put these walls to good use caricaturing and for writing attractive slogans.

Ordinary people “enjoy” the bridge and powerful people “use” the bridge to their advantage. See the Vinyl
boards put up in the bridge

Kamarajar Bridge: (1961)

When Madurai’s bye pass road was constructed, this bridge was built and was inaugurated by Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961. Though this bridge is named after late Thiru. Kamaraj, the former Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu, the local people calls it by very many names of their choice. As this bridge
is near Theekkadir (Marxist Daily) office, it is called as Theekkadir Bridge. As it is also near Fatima
College, it is called as Fatima College Bridge; also called as Guru Theatre Bridge. This bridge as a
part of Madurai’s bye-pass transport has been highly helpful for the city’s traffic and its expansion.

Different views of Kamarajar Bridge – the second over bridge constructed in Vaigai River. The Project
Vaigai Renovation starts from this bridge- that is why thorny bushes are cleared on one side and on
the other side it is uncleared

Palam Station Bridge:

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When the Madurai Palam Railway Station level crossing gate is closed enormous congestion of
vehicular traffic is witnessed. Therefore in order to reduce the traffic jam, a bridge was built
connecting Sellur road and Aarapalayam and the central areas of Madurai City. Though the heavy
and light luxury vehicles do not use this bridge to a greater measure common people and two
wheelers, make use of this bridge mostly. This bridge directly connects the road being formed
alongside the southern bank of Vaigai River. So in the years to come, the utilization of this bridge will
be immense.

Each bridge serves different purpose. Paalam Station bridge constructed to ease the traffic
congestion to reach the south of Madurai .It is adjacent to railway track

PT Rajan over Bridge: (1998)

Linking Ramanathapuram road (Teppakulam) and Anna Nagar area, this bridge is constructed and
named after (the justice party leader, one time chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the father of Tamil
Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker Sri. Palanivelrajan) Sir P.T. Rajan.

Similar to the bridges in the outer city area, this bridge

also is highly helpful in minimizing traffic congestion in
the city, and enables one to have access to the central
and important junctions in the city. Lorries laden with
sand and bricks have now easy access to reach
Madurai northern area by using this bridge.

Kalpaalam Over Bridge :( 2000)

In order to reduce the traffic congestion in Albert
Victor over bridge, a two-tier bridge was built over the
Kalpaalam (stone bridge) with an expenditure of Rs.8
PT Rajan Bridge crores. After the construction of this bridge, both the
Albert Victor Bridge and this two-tier bridge have been
used for one way traffic only.

Kalpaalam Overbridge where the past and the present integrated – the original spirit of Madurai

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Cause ways in Vaigai River:
Kalpaalam ¸ø À¡Äõ (1885)
Kalpaalam was the first bridge built across the river Vaigai to link the northern and southern regions
of Madurai City. As this bridge was constructed using the stones secured while demolishing the fort
of Madurai, this bridge had come to be known as Kalpalam. This bridge has greatly helped for the
expansion of the city in northern side. Till an over bridge was constructed on this bridge in 2000, the
service this bridge has rendered to Madurai City has been immense. As more over bridges came to be
built, this bridge has lost its renown among the affluent ones among the bridge users. When
diversions in traffic system were made due to the exigencies of the situations, those using speeding
vehicles negotiated this bridge with a demur. However Kalpaalam was highly put to use not only for
traffic but also for generating livelihood for the poor. (Field notes of S. Rengasamy & KalaiSelvan,
1998). Though constructed as a bridge for traffic convenience, it has been used as a market for
selling cheap priced goods for the poor.

On Kalpaalam and around Kalpaalam there is about 30 income generating and other opportunities
have been existing. Utilizing the Kalpalam, low-income group people are engaged in 19 different
kinds of livelihood opportunities. They are
1. Sale of second hand cycle seats
2. Sale of new and old cycle spares and parts
3. Sale of cheap wooden wares
4. Sale of mats.
Selling of these commodities are identified with Kalpaalam.The most identified business around
Kalpaalam was sale of tables, chairs, tripods, writing desks , and small almirahas made out of deal
wood (saathikai palakai).

Also the following businesses have found a haven in Kalpalam.

1.Halwa shops which sell traditional bheema pushti halwa À£Á ÒŠÊ «øÅ¡.
2.Fresh fish vending & Fried fish vending Selling of cotton milk (Paruthippal ÀÕò¾¢ô À¡ø)
3.Various types of fruit vending
4.Cool drinks & Ice cream sales
5.Shops specially catering fast foods to cater to the needs of the low-income group people at a
cheaper cost Varieties of soups (goats leg (aattukkaal soup ¬ðÎ측ø Ýô), crab (nandukk kaal
¿ñÎ측ø Ýô)
6.Pen vending
7.Foot wear vending
8.Second hand cloth sales

Erelong these shops were functioning throughout the day (e.g. second hand cycle seats sales) But
some vendors begin their business at 4 p.m in the evening and go up to one 1 p.m late night Certain
shops open sales at 6 pm in the evening.

The hawkers at the Kalpaalam are comparatively deprived economically than those hawkers selling
their wares on the streets of the city. The hawkers at the Kalpaalam Bridge set up shops only on the
left side of the bridge unlike the city street hawkers who set up shops on both side of the streets
thereby causing traffic inconvenience. There is no hindrance to traffic because of Kalpaalam
hawkers. Kalpaalam is a standing example that poor people don’t cause traffic congestion by their
economic activity. It is uncharitable to accuse poor people for anything and everything happening in
the city roads.

Apart from the business opportunities created by the Kalpaalam, it also serve as a route to reach
several services that are provided by the poor people for the poor people. By using Kalpaalam people
are accessible to the following services.

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1. Access to bathing ghats in the river
2. Cows are led to the river for bathing and cleaning.
3. To access the river to wash the clothes
4. To access the play ground for the children
5. To approach places where gold dust is sieved from the sand
6. To use the riverbed for open-air defecation.
7. To wash lorries, minivans & tricycles

Certain rituals are performed in the river. People use the Kalpaalam to reach the river for this
purpose. Also the bridge is used to have access to the river for the following performances.
1. To dissolve ‘Mulaipari’ Ó¨Çô À¡Ã¢ in the river
2. To relieve oneself from pollution due to death of a relative or other wise
3. To celebrate Aaadi festival ¬Êô ¦ÀÕìÌ
4. To bath the elephants of Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple

While the lower Kalpaalam Bridge is beneficial to the low income group to get essential services at
cheaper cost, it is also misused by the affluent ones on various counts. For instance the commission
agents of the plantain fruits dump their waste in the river. These wastes are brought through lorries,
minivans and tri cycles.

Since the year 2000, when the

It is observed that the design of the bridges especially causeways
upper Kalpaalam Bridge came
including its height and breadth lead to many implications.
1. As the height of the Kalpaalamis short and it width is broad it into vogue, the lower
encourages people to use the river, since it facilitates easy access to the Kalpaalam lost its glamour,
river, it is noted that the bridge design is responsible for encroachments but is still in the traffic hub of
in the river. the Madurai City in a smaller
2. The height at the Kuruvikaran salai causeway is considerable. The measure. The affluent ones
height of the bridge had prevented people to have easy access from have begun to park the
crossing into the river and set up encroachments. vehicles in the area.
3. The heights of the three new causeways across the river are low. As
one can easily get into the river from the bridge, encroachments on the
When the Kalpaalam
adjoining areas of these bridges have begun.
When the causeways are planned, one has to take into consideration, causeway was mainly used by
not only the construction costs but also the design, i.e. its height andthe low income groups for
breadth. The lesson learnt from these causeways is that it increases thetheir livelihood, it was
use of the river and also causes more and more encroachments. (see considered safe even to
the newspaper report) women who will be passing by
alone. To day when different
categories of people using the bridge the safety feeling are slowly diminishing.

It can be stated that the period from 1990 to 2000 can be considered as the golden age for the
Vaigai bridges. During that period, seven bridges, four over bridges including the over bridge at the
ring road and three ground level bridges have sprung up.

Other Cause Ways: Ground Level Bridges.

In Madurai city across Vaigai River, there are five
(cause ways) ground level bridges. They are
1. Kuruvikaran Salai bridge ÌÕŢ측Ãý º¡¨Ä
(1963 named after Thyagi Arunachalam)
2. Kalpalam.
3. Aarapalayam – Aruldaspuram Bridge,
4. Petchiamman padithurai §ÀÂÂõÁý
ÀÊòШÈ- Sellur palam bridge and
5. Opulapadithurai µÒÇ¡ ÀÊòÐ¨È - Vaigai
Vadakarai Bridge. The last three are the recent
ones.

Kuruvikkaaran Salai (Tyagi Arunachalam)

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 Aruldaspuram Bridge Opulapadithurai Bridge Petchiamman Padithurai-Sellur

Over bridges help to relive the traffic congestion arising due to vehicular expansion. They help the
higher and middle-income people to have people speedy travel of their desire.

Acknowledgements:
Bridges in Vaigai River was written by me with the field work support of Mr. Karunakaran (Community
Development 2003 Batch of MSW) and slightly modified for this article.

All the photographs for this article are taken by Udayakumar (Community Development 2005-2007 Batch) of
MSW.