Wayanad: After working for 31 hours without a break, the Indian Army built a 190-ft  Bailey bridge to restore the connectivity between Chooralmala and Mundakkai, two hamlets in Wayanad ravaged by multiple landslides. The prefabricated truss bridge is built in the same place where a 100-ft  long concrete bridge was blown to smithereens by the mighty boulders from the hills.

The army first allowed an ambulance to pass and then drove a military truck over the bridge to test its structural integrity. The 3m-wide bridge can carry 24 tonnes and expedite search operations in Mundakkai, said Major General V T Mathew, the general officer commanding (GOC), Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area. 

The width is good enough for earthmovers, excavators, trucks, ambulances and jeeps to Mundakai, said an Army Major. Till now, only the off-road jeeps that were already in the tea estate were carrying provisions,  people and tools to the search sites. Of the 400 houses atop Mundakai,  only 30 have survived the landslide. Many people are still missing.

How the bridge was built
The panels, each 10ft long, for the Bailey bridge were shipped from  Bengaluru in 20 trucks to Chooralmala on Tuesday, July 30, the same day the landslide struck Wayanad, said Maj Gen Mathew, spearheading the operation. A total of 19 steel panels were used to build the 190-ft  bridge, which is supported by a single pier.

On Tuesday evening,  officers from the Madras Engineer Group, the engineering task force of the Army, recced the place. At 9 am on Wednesday, July 31, 144 officers from Madras Engineer Group started the work on the bridge. The limited space at the mouth of the bridge hampered the pace of the work. "There was space only for one truck but ideally we needed at least 50ft elbow to work with the 10-ft panels," said an officer. He said that the work was also delayed by frequent VIP visits and adverse weather conditions.

"Despite all these, our officers worked non-stop, all through the night, pausing only to have food to build the bridge," said the officer. The bridge was ready at 6 pm on August 1, 31 hours after the work started, he said.
Maj Gen Mathew said the weather and the lack of adequate space made the building of the bridge a challenging task. "But we are used to these conditions," he said.

Around 3 am on Thursday, the army men started work on another 100-ft footbridge parallel to the Bailey Bridge. "We completed it by 6 am," said the major. The footbridge was a boon for search teams and provision suppliers to reach Mundaikai throughout the day.
Maj General said the two bridges would be available for the public till a new concrete bridge is built or as long as the government wants. "We had constructed a Bailey Bridge in Sabarimala a long time ago. It is still there," he said.