Rajamahendravaram: Centre urged to hand over Havelock bridge to UNESCO

Rajamahendravaram: The state government sent proposals to the Union government with a request to handover the century-old Havelock rail bridge on River Godavari to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to make it as a tourist spot.

The construction of the bridge was started on November 11, 1887 and completed and dedicated to nation on August 30,1900 and the then Madras Governor Sir Arthur Elibank Havelock inaugurated the bridge. An amount of Rs 46.89 lakh was spent for the construction of the bridge, though it's estimated cost was Rs 50.40 lakh. The life of the bridge was assessed for 70 years. But it served the nation for 97 years.

The first train travelled to Chennai from Howrah on August 30, 1900 and last train travelled from Howrah to Chennai on March 31, 1997. The length of the bridge is 4kms.

The government had already paid an amount of Rs 13 crore to Railway Board and handed over the bridge to make it a tourist spot. Speaking to 'The Hans India' here on Wednesday, MP Margani Bharat Ram said a high-level meeting under the aegis of Minister for Tourism Avanthi Srinivas was held at Amaravati on Tuesday.

After indepth discussions, the proposal was sent to the central government. Meanwhile, Rs 400 crore worth of proposals to get heritage tag to the ancient city were also sent to the central government with necessary information. The city is having necessary parameters to get heritage status and the central government sanction special funds, if it gets heritage status. Tourism department Additional Secretary Rajit Bhargav and Principal Secretary Vani Mohan wree also present.