Kottayam: Former PWD minister and Ambalappuzha MLA G Sudhakaran has publicly voiced his displeasure at allegedly being sidelined during the inauguration of the Makkekadavu-Nerekadavu bridge connecting Alappuzha and Kottayam districts.Chief minister V D Satheesan inaugurated the 800-metre-long and 11-metre-wide bridge connecting the two districts on Sunday.In a Facebook post, Sudhakaran said that he did not receive even a single invitation card for the inauguration ceremony, despite having initiated the project. He also recalled that the project began during the first Pinarayi Vijayan-led govt when he was PWD minister, after sanctioning it for Rs 80 crore.Sudhakaran said that the decision had been to hold the inauguration on the Alappuzha side once the bridge was completed. However, a couple of residents on the Alappuzha side refused to give land for constructing the approach road under any circumstances. Govt also decided that they need not be forcibly removed. As a result, construction was delayed. In any case, the bridge was completed, and he said he saw news reports about competing claims being made at the inauguration venue.Sudhakaran added that the only person on the stage directly connected with the bridge’s construction was A M Arif, who was the MLA at the time. Yet, Sudhakaran stated that Arif could not lay out the facts clearly.“The current chief minister and PWD minister may not know all the hardships that went into making this bridge a reality, but Shanimol Usman knows them well,” Sudhakaran said, adding that even then he did not receive even an invitation card related to the inauguration.Sudhakaran said that he has no complaint about it and also extended congratulations to everyone who worked to make the bridge a reality.(With agency inputs)