John Wilbert & Vikramaditya
Port Blair, Oct 08: Answering to a questions, during a media interaction held by the Andaman and Nicobar Command recently, the Air Marshal Saju Balakrishnan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman Nicobar Command had revealed that the ANC had granted a no-objection certificate for the construction of the bridge that would connect Bambooflat and Chatham Islands.
To get further details Andaman Sheekha Daily contacted Rear Admiral Sandeep Singh Sandhu, Chief of Staff at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, who provided further details, stating that the ANC had already issued the no-objection certificate and requested that the bridge be constructed at a height to allow ships to pass underneath.
He emphasized that the construction had received the green signal from the ANC command, and there were no concerns as most defense warships had a lower height compared to DSS passenger ships.
The construction of the bridge, initially promised by Mr. Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport & Highways, during his visit to Port Blair in February 2015, had yet to commence.
Meanwhile talking to Andaman Sheekha Team, the President of Living on the Edge (LoTE), Mr. Abhay Kumar said that the groundwork for the Chatham- Bambooflat Bridge, which now can be called as Haddo- Bambooflat Bridge is progressing well. He said that in the month of 21st May 2023, a crucial meeting was also held at the chamber of Chief Secretary of A & N Administration in which the designer of the bridge ( VKS Infratech) and NHIDCL officials were present. According to Mr Abhay Kumar, who is in constant touch with NHIDCL officials and designers of the bridge, presently there are some minor hurdles related to the land acquisition and underground power cable shifting. He said that there might be some minute change in bridge design also as per suggestion of A & N Administration.
For years, the dream of a bridge connecting Chatham with Bambooflat has remained a distant hope for thousands of residents of Bambooflat Island in Ferrargunj Tehsil. The residents of Bambooflat and Chatham Islands, who have long awaited this vital connection, are cautiously optimistic that their dreams of a bridge linking the two islands may soon become a reality.
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