PERAMBALUR: The highways department, in recent times, drew both praise and flak from the residents of Perambalur: though the recent construction of a high-level bridge over the Chitraru river near Elumur-Murukkangudi road in Veppur – at a cost of Rs 1.10 crore – garnered appreciation, residents here blame the department for dumping soil excavated for bridge construction into the waterbody itself.