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• Angry villagers and farmers of Kothamangalam, Punganur and Kallikudi held a meeting with officials of the Trichy district administration, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the PWD to iron out differences, as the proposed 17-km Karur Bypass Road between Trichy and Karur on NH-67 is still not completed. More than a decade has now passed since the idea was first mooted by late MP Rangarajan Kumaramangalam.Of the total length, a 12-km stretch sans the area that falls within Trichy district (a distance of 5-km between Panjappur and Thayanur) had been completed two years ago, but the crucial link of 5-km could not be completed as it ran cutting across three water bodies, namely Kothamangalam lake, Kallikudi lake and Punganur lake.
• The Karur stretch of the road was completed up to Kothamangalam from where the bypass-cum-ring road ran into problem. The farmers went to the Madurai bench of the Madras high court and an expert committee was formed which then presented three to four options after studying the issue from all angles. The Rs 516 crore project, would have been reality today, but for the wrangling between the public works department that objected to the road encroaching the water bodies and the NHAI, that put the project on the backburner in a huff.
• Meanwhile, the route as proposed in the original plan of the NHAI was to run alongside a college owned by a powerful Trichy politician, who used his influence to divert the ring road much to the chagrin of the local farmers. More than a bypass road, the ring road starting at Siruganur on the Chennai Highway, passing through Thuvakudi on the east, Manikandam on the south, Pettavaithalai on the west, Gunaseelam on the North-west and Thiruvallarai on the north would come back to square one, as it would have emerged as a vital link to travellers from Karur, Thanjavur, Dindigul and Madurai.
• The new road might also have eased much of the pressure that is at present borne by Trichy traffic.The district administration is involved in acquiring land for the project and hand them over to the NHAI and according to the revised plan that emerged out of Tuesday's meeting, the remaining stretch would be extended from five to 9-km in keeping with the directions of the high court to bypass the water bodies.However, a final decision is yet to be taken, said a retired highways engineer, who is at present a consultant for the project.

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