KOCHI: It was exactly five years ago, on April 28, 2018, that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) service and announced the project as a floating bridge between Fort Kochi and Vypeen. However, for the last one year, one of the two vessels has been alternately halted due to technical glitches.
“The Ro-Ro service was touted as a floating bridge between Vypeen and Fort Kochi,” said Majnu Komath, president of the Vypeen Janakeeya Koottayma (VJK), who was also one of those who pushed for the service on the route.
The distance by road from Vypeen to Fort Kochi is about 18km, which takes around one hour of travel time. However, the water route is just 600m long and takes only 10 minutes to cover.
“Sethusagar-1 was withdrawn from service last November. It’s been five months. Long queues of vehicles line up on both sides, yet the officials remain mute spectators,” said Johny Vypin, convenor of VJK. The service owned by Kochi corporation and operated by Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC). Mayor M Anilkumar was not available for comment. According to a source with the corporation, the local body owes around Rs 2 crore to Cochin Shipyard, and hence the dry docking of Sethusagar has been delayed.
“As soon as the two Ro-Ro vessels started to develop technical glitches, we met the mayor to convince him of the need for a third ferry. Though he had assured help, the situation remains unchanged,” said Johny. “In the 2022–23 budget, the state government earmarked Rs 10 crore for a third vessel. “There is no update, and the fund has not been allocated to the local body yet,” said Majnu.
He said the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) owns two container-carrying Ro-Ro vessels, C V Raman and Adishankara (on standby), which are double the size of Sethusagar. “We have been requesting a standby vessel for Sethusagar 1 and 2 since the service plan was initially mooted,” he said. “We sought operating Adishankara on the route.
However, for this, the bed near Vypeen Jetty needs to be deepened, considering the size of the vessel. This can be done with the available advanced technology. “Yet, officials refuse to accede to our requests,” Majnu said.