Thrissur: After a four-year wait, the skywalk at Sakthan Nagar in Thrissur was inaugurated on Independence Day at a grand ceremony attended by hundreds.

Inaugurating the facility, minister for welfare of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes and devaswoms K Radhakrishnan said the LDF government plans 25 years ahead while implementing various development programmes. “LDF government’s goal is to provide a better life for the future generations. The state has witnessed huge progress in infrastructure development in the past seven years,” he said.

The 279-m-long skywalk in Sakthan Nagar, constructed at a cost of Rs 8 crore, is the longest skywalk built in the state.

The skywalk connects the Sakthan bus stand, vegetable market, fish and meat market, Pattalam market and golden flea market. It is expected that at least 50,000 people would make use of the facility daily. Two elevators and a solar power system have been installed.

Thrissur Mayor M K Varghese told the gathering that two more elevators would be installed.

Skywalk air-conditioning would be completed in the second phase, he added.

Sakthan Nagar is the busiest centre in Thrissur. Tens of thousands of vehicles cross the junction every day. It is also the most accident-prone area in Thrissur.