After commissioning regulator-cum-bridge across Thejaswini A Rs. 50-crore project to assist localities that face drinking water shortage in Thrikkaripur due to intrusion of saline water will be commissioned shortly, said K. Kunhiraman, MLA. The project would be realized after commissioning the regulator-cum-bridge across the Thejaswini that would link Kayoor-Chemeni pachayath and Neeleshwaram municipality, Mr. Kunhiraman said. The project, funded by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), would solve the acute drinking water shortage, he said, inaugurating a seminar on comprehensive development of the Thrikarippur Assembly segment hosted by Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), an official press release issued here said. He said construction of the proposed hill and coastal highways was crucial for the all-round development of his constituency, which he claimed had immense potential for touism, especially along the 24-km stretch in Valiyaparamba panchayat surrounded by river and backwaters. The function was attended by KILA director P. P. Balan; associate professor Peter M. Raj; assistant director K.M. Saleem; and representatives of grama panchayats and Neeleshwaram municipality falling in the Assembly constituency. Intrusion of saline water into Thrikkaripur NABARD to fund the project: MLA