Boat services to Mattancherry resume after six-year break

The minister travelled in ‘Indra’, the country’s largest solar-electric vessel, to Fort Kochi and also launched the renovated Fort Kochi Customs boat jetty.
Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar aboard SWTD vessel Indra on Tuesday
Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar aboard SWTD vessel Indra on Tuesday(Photo | Express)
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KOCHI: Boat services to Mattancherry resumed on Tuesday after a gap of six years, enabling residents and tourists to reach the popular tourist destination quickly instead of over-an-hour long travel by road from the Kochi city. Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar unveiled a slew of projects, including resumption of boat service to Mattancherry, launch of night tourist services of Indra, dedication of renovated Fort Kochi terminal, launch of five dinghies, two new ferry boats and a silt pusher machine.

The State Water Transport Department (SWTD) was forced to stop the operations in the Ernakulam-Mattancherry route, post formation of large silt deposits in the backwater channel post the 2018 floods.

The services remained disrupted all these years after the irrigation department failed to carry out dredging works on a timely basis. It finally deployed the newly-acquired silt pusher machine to clear the navigation channel.

“Initially we could operate only a few services daily, that during the high tide. It will take some more time to operate regular services as the dredging activities need to be completed,” an SWTD official said.

The minister travelled in ‘Indra’, the country’s largest solar-electric vessel, to Fort Kochi and also launched the renovated Fort Kochi Customs boat jetty.

New boat service in Thevara-Arookutty section

Meanwhile, the minister also launched two new catamaran ferry boats, one 75-passenger capacity vessel and the other 100.

“Another 50-passenger capacity boat will be deployed to start new services in the Thevara-Arookutty section. Initially, a single service each will be operated in the morning and evening peak hours,” the minister said.

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