New bridge ends seven years of isolation for tribal hamlets of Munderi in Malappuram

Minister for Public Works P.K. Basheer inaugurating the new bridge across the Chaliyar river at Munderi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

A new bridge across the Chaliyar at Munderi in Pothukal panchayat in Malappuram has ended seven years of isolation for the tribal settlements in the interior forests of Nilambur. Public Works Minister P.K. Basheer on Saturday (October 17, 2026) inaugurated the bridge built to replace the one destroyed in the 2019 floods.

The ₹5.76-crore project includes a 300-metre approach road. The bridge is 100 metres long, 4.65 metres wide, and has five spans.

Tribal residents of Vaniyampuzha, Iruttukuthi, Kumbalappara and Tharippapotti hamlets had relied on bamboo rafts to cross the Chaliyar after the old bridge collapsed.

Minister for Public Works P.K. Basheer and other people’s representatives walking along the newly opened bridge across the Chaliyar river at Munderi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN