Life is fraught with risks on Pasiyavaram island off Pulicat lake, the second largest brackish water lake in the country. For their daily needs, nearly 20,000 residents in Pasiyavaram and its four surrounding fishing hamlets is depend on Pulicat village, the closest commercial hub. To reach the market centre, residents of the island have to cross the lake every day. During summer, residents wade through the water that is just a couple of feet deep. But, during monsoon, the water rises by more than six feet and boats are the only option. A proposal to construct a 0.43km high-level bridge across the Pulicat lake was mooted by the Tamil Nadu government in 2007. A decade later, the proposal is still on paper. On Tuesday, the proposal will come up for hearing before the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. While the state environmental agencies have given their approval for the project, the Centre’s nod is pending. On Friday, as early as 5am, a boat ferried fishermen, daily wage workers and school students accompanied by their mothers to the Pulicat village. As the boatman struggled in the choppy water, the 2-km journey lasted 40 minutes. Some like homemaker S Geetha, 36, of Sathanakuppam spend four hours on the commute daily dropping and picking up children from school. Just one primary school serves the island villages of Pasiyavaram, Sathanakuppam, Edamani Kuppam, Edamani Colony and Rahmat Nagar. To attend secondary and higher secondary school, more than 500 children from these islands crossing the lake every day. Medical facilities too are a rickety boat ride away. Fisherman A Murugan recalls how Veeran, 55, who suffered a heart attack in May, died on the long way to the hospital. “There are hospitals on the islands. The nearest one is a kilometre away. When Veeran needed medical help, we had taken the motor-powered boat to the government hospital across the waters, but it was too late,” said Murugan. Tiruvallur Traditional Fishermen Association general secretary Durai Mahendran said they had been demanding construction of a bridge for the past 30 years. “The island has lost at least 10 lives to boat accidents in the last three decades. The biggest disaster was when 22 people of the same family were killed in 2011 after their boat overturned,” he said.