KOCHI: With the inauguration of multiple projects, Kochi’s water transport sector is going to witness sea changes. Water metro, State Water Transport Department’s boats, and Ro-Ro services are coming together to make a well-connected water trail across the city
The boat tragedy at Fort Kochi which claimed the lives of 11 passengers happened six years ago. Though Kochi Corporation replaced passenger boats — which collided with a fishing boat — with Ro-Ro services, the accident has been a lesson for Kochiites on safety of water transport. At a time when Kochi’s water transport network is witnessing sea changes with the launch of water metro, new catamaran boats for State Water Transport Department’s (SWTD) boat services and widening of city canals through Integrated Urban Regeneration and Water Transport System Project (IURWTS), many feel that long-term plans are required for the sustainable co-existence of water transport systems with other modes.
“Risk of accidents is always there in any transport system. Roads are more prone to it compared to other modes of transport. However, the braking system is not as effective in water transport. It is difficult to apply the brakes at a short distance. The fundamental solution lies in ensuring safety precautions. Training the crew and drivers and creating awareness among the passengers also need to be done,” said O P Agarwal, a transport expert.
He played a key role in preparing the toolkit and framing the National Urban Transport Policy and is also a member of the Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA). He also points towards the need for uniform scheduling. “Assignment of schedules of all fleets should be done meticulously under a common monitoring point, just like control towers for airlines. Risk is always high when some vessels are bigger than others.
Depending on the volume of fleets under each agency, exclusive routes can be assigned for service,” said Agarwal. According to experts, ensuring last-mile connectivity to water transport is important to usher in a sustainable system. “Introduction of several fleets on new routes won’t attract passenger patronage to the system. Many of these proposed water metro jetties are devoid of bus or autorickshaw connectivity. This is also why SWTD’s service from Vyttila to Chittethukara witnessed very less support from passengers.
The agencies need to ensure feeder systems to ensure long-term success of these projects. Above all, these services should be brought under KMTA through a mobile application to ensure a sustainable co-existence of all these systems,” said D Dhanuraj, chairman of Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Kochi-based think-tank.
Meanwhile, many passengers are calling for an integrated operation of services. “We need to have an integrated approach by KMRL, SWTD and KSINC to attain the common objective of offering seamless service to the passengers. Instead of spending crores on setting up new jetties, these agencies should improve existing facilities and offer better connectivity with other modes of transport,” said Shahid Ameen, a regular user of water transport.
However, many feel that the independent existence of agencies will not create any issues. “SWTD has modernised its vessels to ensure a safer travel experience. We are conducting our services based on the fixed time schedules on every route. Besides, we communicate with agencies like Cochin Port or the Indian Navy to manage the arrival or departure of vessels through our route.
Similarly, water metro will also function according to their service schedule. Just like road transport, all these vessels can co-exist without creating any issues. Still, an alignment of time schedules will be helpful for the public,” said Shaji V Nair, director, SWTD.
Fort Kochi boat tragey
It was in 2015 that MV Bharat — a passenger boat carrying 40 people from Vypeen to Fort Kochi — collided with a speeding fishing boat, killing 11 people. The mishap occurred just four minutes after the boat started its journey from Vypeen.
Accident Compensation Tribunal
Considering the need for a common platform to address accidents involving inland water transport vehicles, an accident compensation insurance tribunal was set up recently. Under the agency, all motor accident claims tribunal (MACT) courts were integrated with inland vessel claim tribunals. Affected parties can approach the MACT court in the region where the fleets are registered to claim necessary compensation.