KOCHI: For nearly six years, Mattancherry residents had to make do without the popular boat services that helps them reach Kochi city in just 20 minutes. And when the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) resumed the services in February this year, the residents heaved a sigh of relief. Alas, it was short-lived.
The silt-deposit in the backwater channel posed a serious hurdle yet again despite the deployment of a new silt pusher machine acquired by the Cochin Smart Mission. SWTD was forced to suspend the services daily during the peak morning hours as the boats faced the risk of getting stuck in the slush along the navigation channel during low tide. The services would often start only by 11am, after a change in tide.
While SWTD huffs and puffs, the Kochi Water Metro promises smooth sailing, thanks to a host of advanced features in its fleet of electric, hybrid vessels and better planning in setting up the Mattancherry Water Metro terminal. The Water Metro is set to commence the services in the new High Court-Willingdon Island-Mattancherry section from the middle of June.
“To overcome the silt deposit, we’re setting up the Mattancherry terminal nearly 50 metres away from the shore using pontoons and special construction materials. This will help us operate the vessels even during low tide,” Water Metro Chief Operating Officer Sajan P John told TNIE.
Like SWTD, the Water Metro too removed the silt deposit in its dedicated navigation channel. But unlike the former, its vessels can ply exactly through the channel.
“An alert will be sounded, both in the WheelHouse and the Operation Control Centre, at the slightest deviation of the vessels during their sail through the narrow channel. Also, the crew will receive a pre-warning in case of insufficient depth, thanks to the echo sounder instrument present in the vessels,” Sajan pointed out.
Silt deposit post 2018 flood posing challenge
SWTD was forced to stop the operations on the Ernakulam-Mattancherry route after the formation of large silt deposits in the backwater channel post the 2018 flood. The services remained disrupted all these years as the irrigation department failed to carry out dredging on a timely basis. It even deployed the newly acquired silt pusher machine to clear the navigation channel, but the efforts failed to yield the desired output.
“There is heavy rush during the morning peak hour. But on most days, the boats start plying only by 11am. Many arrive at the Mattancherry jetty and return disappointed. The commuters, mostly employees and daily wage workers, will then have to walk nearly two kilometres to catch the boat services from the Fort Kochi Customs jetty,” said M M Abbas, president of the West Kochi Passengers’ Association.
It takes nearly an hour to travel by road, he added.