KOCHI: With the tourist season setting off, the Kochi Water Metro terminal premises would soon become cultural spots and social gathering venues as well, with music bands and buskers weaving the magic on weekends.
The Kochi Water Metro (KWM) is all set to extend its open auditorium at Fort Kochi terminal and the open space before the High Court terminal for hosting musical events.
And to start with, musical bands and buskers could avail the space for free to exhibit their talent and enthral the crowd with their mesmerising voices.
“Besides being a sustainable public transportation mode, the Water Metro also aims to turn the open spaces at terminals as social gathering venues. Hence, we are open to host street music and similar events at our open auditorium and all. What we aim is to extend such space to musical bands, college students, or buskers on the lines of street performances in foreign destinations like Cape Town (South Africa),” said chief operating officer Sajan John.
Citing the example of many European countries like Belgium, the official pointed out that street music can bring vitality and increase sociability, and evoke spontaneous transitions in public spaces.
“We are now planning to allot the spaces for free to start with. Fort Kochi is already booming with tourist activities and such events can keep the crowd going,” he said.
A couple of events has already been held for free at the open space before the High Court terminal.
“The open auditorium at Fort Kochi is located just at the end of the walkway from the beach and against the background of the traditional Chinese fishing nets. We are sure, the musical events would lure the audience, and hence we are inviting musicians and street performers to apply for the busking spot to showcase their talent and also enthral the visitors,” the official added.
Water Metro gears up to connect outskirts
With the Water Metro speeding up the infrastructure work to start operating boat services to the city outskirts such as Edakochi and Kadamakudy, the tourism department is in the process of making a roadmap to develop scenic destinations such as Kadamakudy.
“After the planned Mattancherry service, we will launch new services in the Kadamakudy-Paliyam Thuruth section. The work on the terminals at Kadamakudy, Paliyam Thuruth, Willingdon Island and Kumbalam is over. However, we are not in a hurry to start the services. For instance, while the Kumbalam terminal work is finished, we want to operate the services to Edakochi from Vyttila. Currently, the land acquisition for Edakochi terminal has been completed. We will start services in the Vyttila-Kumbalam-Edakochi section, once this is completed,” another senior official said.
The KWML plans to start the service to Mattancherry, another tourist spot in West Kochi, just before the Cochin Carnival – the annual event held in Fort Kochi during the final weeks of December which attracts people from all parts of the world.
“The Kadamakudy islands are a perfect destination to unwind oneself. However, currently the roads are very narrow, making vehicular access difficult. Once the metro connectivity happens, these spots will be booming with tourist activities. We are preparing a road map to develop
Kadamakudy into a major tourist spot,” said Prembhas K C, Deputy Director, Kerala Tourism.
Seaplane trial run: Restrictions raise concerns among boat operators
Kochi: While the seaplane ‘de Havilland Canada - 6 Twin Otter’ landed at Bolgatty on Sunday ahead of its scheduled trial run on Monday, the strict restrictions on the movement of the tourist boats, fishing boats, vessels operated by the KSINC and Water Metro and other private boats have raised concerns among stakeholders. They fear that a repeat of the restrictions on Sunday would be detrimental to their operations and businesses. On Sunday, to facilitate the landing of the 9-seater seaplane at Bolgatty at 3.15pm, boat traffic in the surrounding waters was restricted for two hours from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Moreover, as per the order issued by District Collector N S K Umesh, the operations of all boats near Bolgatty are strictly restricted from 9am to 11am on Monday too. Curbs have been imposed on the areas around Marine Drive, First Goshree Bridge to Bolgatty and from Vallarpadam to Tanker Berth 9 of Cochin Port Trust.