Water Metro services to Kakkanad disrupted for 2nd consecutive day
KOCHI: The operation of Water Metro ferries and the movement of barges carrying goods to industrial units were disrupted for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as the propeller of one of the barges of FACT which got stuck in the aquatic weed on Tuesday could not be moved even after a day.
The barge blocked the route near the Chambakkara Canal on Tuesday too. There is also uncertainty on the resumption of Water Metro ferries and the clearing of the channel though officials expressed confidence that things will be back to normal on Thursday. According to sources, the accumulation of water hyacinth in Chambakkara Canal is a regular problem that crops up during the monsoon.
“The maintenance of the shipping channel on National Waterway 3 is the responsibility of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI). The authority could have prevented accumulation of hyacinth if they had regularly cleared the channel,” said a source. The matter was taken up with the IWAI and discussed several times, yet no action was taken, he said.
The incident has affected the movement of other barges as well. “Another barge that ferried ammonia had to be anchored at Thykoodam on Tuesday following the block. The engineers and authorities failed to tow away the barge that was stuck near the Kaniyampuzha Bridge, and we had to take the ammonia-ferrying barge to Willingdon Island on Wednesday,” said a FACT official. “Another empty barge used for ferrying sulphuric acid is halted near Eroor and can be pressed into service only after the route is cleared,” the official said.
The employees of Kerala Shipping & Inland Navigation Corporation Ltd, and IWAI tried to clear the canal by removing hyacinths using a tug but failed. “We will be able to clear the waterway and resume services by Thursday,” said the official.
Officials with Kochi Water Metro Ltd said that the service would be resumed on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route on Thursday if the barge is removed from the route.