Minister for Public Works Department, Highways and Minor Ports E. V. Velu laid the foundation stone on Wednesday for constructing a 97-metre-long covered glass bridge to connect the imposing 133-foot-tall Thiruvalluvar Statue with the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari.
Even though ferry services are being operated from the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation’s jetty to Vivekananda Rock Memorial every day whenever the tides are normal, the rough sea or low tide prevents the ferries from being berthed at nearby Thiruvalluvar Statue. During this period, the visitors can only have a look at the towering statue of the sage poet from Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
Hence, the State government has decided to construct a bridge above the sea to connect the two structures standing on huge rocks. The Tamil Nadu government, which initially planned to construct a bridge above the sea to connect Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue, later upgraded this project into a closed glass bridge. The visitors can walk through the 97-metre-long and 4-metre-wide covered glass bridge, which is to be built on an outlay of ₹37 crore by a Chennai-based company.