Chennai(Tamil Nadu): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated the Kavundampalayam and Ramanathapuram-Sungam flyovers in Coimbatore from the Secretariat here on Saturday. The flyovers built at an estimated cost of Rs 230 crore and Rs 60 crore, respectively, would decongest the traffic on Coimbatore-Tiruchirappalli Road.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the flyovers virtually from the state secretariat here in the presence of Highways Minister E V Velu, Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and state Highways Secretary Dheeraj Kumar. The four-lane Ramanathapuram - Sungam flyover running for a distance of 3.15 km was officially opened for public use, a release here said.
This would decongest the traffic at Ramanathapuram, Olympus and Sungam besides Alvenia School junction, Sowripalayam junction, Puliyakulam junction, All India Radio Road junction, Race Course Road and Valankulam Road intersections. This new flyover would ensure quick access to the government hospital, railway station, town hall and Ukkadam.
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The 1.17 km long four-lane flyover at Kavundampalayam, which was dedicated to the public, will facilitate smooth traffic flow for vehicles heading to Coonoor, Ooty, Gudalur and Mysuru. The workers of both the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK distributed sweets, separately, to celebrate the opening of both flyovers for the use of the public in the city.
As CM Stalin inaugurated the flyovers by video-conference, state Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji flagged off traffic movement on the flyover, a long-pending project, attracting slogans from both the ruling and opposition parties that led to tense moments. After distributing sweets to the people, the minister immediately left the place.
AIADMK MLAs P R G Arunkumar, A K Selvaraj, Amman K Arjunan, and K Jeyaraman also distributed sweets to the public, claiming the project was initiated by their government three years ago and travelled on the flyover. Meanwhile, a few BJP workers, led by Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, also celebrated the opening, claiming that the facility was opened only after they staged protests a few days ago to open the flyovers.
District Collector G S Sameeran, Corporation Commissioner M Prathap, MPs P R Natarajan and Shanmughasundaram, and Mayor Kalpana were present at the inauguration. (PTI)
