KOCHI: It has been six years since regular boat services to the popular tourist destination of Mattanchery were suspended, making life difficult for the residents and scores of tourists who have to travel by road for over an hour, negotiating busy traffic and narrow stretches, instead of a 20-minute boat ride.
The reason: is large deposits of silt in the backwater channel post the 2018 flood. A sum of Rs 4.5 crore was then allotted to dredge the channel on a war footing and restore the boat services operated by the State Water Transport Department (SWTD). Several years have gone by, but the irrigation department is yet to issue the completion letter to SWTD, leaving the latter unable to operate services despite having more boats now than needed.
“We cannot operate the services to Mattanchery this Onam either though there will be a heavy rush of commuters,” said SWTD traffic superintendent Sujith M. “There is no communication yet from the irrigation department regarding the completion of the dredging work. This even as the department has more boats at its disposal. The boats have been deployed on the Fort Kochi route.”
The services to Mattanchery were stopped after many boats were damaged because of inadequate depth post the silt accumulation. The problem is acute in a 100-m periphery of the Mattanchery jetty, especially towards Fort Kochi.
The department has plans to extend some of the Fort Kochi services to Mattanchery besides operating direct services. “Unless we receive official communication from the irrigation department, conveying that the dredging has been carried out, we can’t resume the services. We’re set to receive two more new boats in a month, but don’t know where to deploy them,” the SWTD official pointed out.
Residents have alleged a lapse on the part of the irrigation department for not completing dredging. Meanwhile, SWTD has renovated the boat terminal at Mattanchery at a cost of Rs 78 lakh, but it remains unused.
M M Abbas, president of West Kochi Passengers’ Association said, “Though the irrigation department entrusted the work to contractors, the same has been dragging on. It’s a waste of public money." Despite repeated attempts, irrigation department officials could not be contacted. “We are doing the dredging of our allotted channel by ourselves. The dredging has begun. The work on the Mattanchery terminal has also entered the final phase,” a Water Metro official said.