Ferry frustration on New Year's day

KOCHI: The New Year debuted on an exasperating note for people who reached the Vypeen jetty to cross over to Fort Kochi. With no additional ferries to deal with the festive crowds, there was a severe rush at the boat jetty and large crowds of people had to wait long hours to take the ferry.  Majnu Komath, chairman of the Fort Vypeen People’s Collective, said there were thousands waiting to get into the boat jetty. The queue was 2 km long, with a large number of vehicles parked too there. 

He said Mayor Soumini Jain had previously stated a junkar and an additional boat service will be organised, but nothing materialised. As one ferry could accommodate only 150 people at a time, people were literally stranded in Vypeen and were feeling irritated, he said. 

In the evening, the same crowd was seen struggling to get back from Fort Kochi with limited services for their return journey. Earlier on the New Year's Eve, people had to wait long to attend the traditional burning of Pappanji at the Parade Ground. Then too, there was a heavy congestion at the Vypeen boat jetty due to inadequate ferry services. The need to increase the service from Vypeen to Fort Kochi has been brought to the attention of District Collector Muhammad K Safirulla.