KOCHI: It has been a long ordeal for the residents of Thanthonnithuruth. Every monsoon, their lives hang by a thread, at the mercy of the rising water levels. But now, it seems every trip to Kochi city has become an unwanted adventure for them. After the Goshree Islands Development Authority’s (GIDA) boat jetty closed down, many islanders who used to rely on the jetty, now endanger their lives by using the steel fencing of Queen’s walkway to step onto the mainland. “We have been facing injustice for a long time. Earlier, we could get to the city whenever we wanted on our country boats. Now, we have to depend on passenger boats which are infrequent and come once in an hour or so,” said Prasanna P, a resident of Thanthonnithuruth.
While their demand for permanent road connectivity has been neglected repeatedly, over 350 residents of the thuruth are struggling to travel in emergencies. “Though we live close to the High Court, our daily lives depend on the government’s boat service. As it often develops glitches, it is routine for us to wait in the middle of the water for hours,” she said.
Earlier, the government had promised a water ambulance for the island, but it never materialised. “The ambulance was meant to carry critical patients and bodies for cremation to Chittoor. The families are still tying together normal boats to shift bodies from Pachalam. Be it a demise or marriage, the families have to first start worrying about travel and expenses related to that,” said Praveen, a resident.
The families claim that over the last few years, around 27 people have died because they couldn’t be ferried to the city’s hospitals in time. Despite continuous demand, GIDA’s jetty has not been opened to the public yet. “Though there are ferry services from Chittoor, Mulavukadu and Pizhala, those are only during the day. What if someone becomes critically ill at night? We will have to use our country boats and go through the same ordeal again. GIDA officials should understand our plight,” said Mani C, another resident. Despite repeated attempts, GIDA officials were unavailable forcomments.