THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when the seaplane project, connecting water bodies and airports in Kerala, snowballed into a major controversy over the LDF government delaying it by a decade, the KSEB had evinced keen interest to launch it in 2022.
The KSEB had sought Expressions of Interests from aviation service providers to operate amphibious floatplane and/or helicopter services between their dams and reservoirs which received excellent feedback. This was mooted during former KSEB chairman and managing director B Ashok's tenure, but did not go further after he was shifted from there.
The tourism department had earlier burnt its fingers by launching the country's first seaplane coughing up Rs 18 crore which had to be grounded owing to stiff opposition from fishermen during Oommen Chandy government's tenure.
The ambitious project of the KSEB to operate floatplane and/or helicopter services between their dams and reservoirs saw them inviting EoI during April 2022. KSEBL had planned to take up their ambitious project at the first stage in the Banasurasagar Dam in Wayanad and Mattupetty Dam in Idukki. In fact when the tourism department’s seaplane took off from Kochi's Bolgatty Marina on Monday, it landed smoothly at the Mattupetty dam.
The trial run by the 17-seater seaplane has been part of the Union Ministry of civil aviation’s initiative to explore the possibilities of inland transport using amphibious aircraft. Ashok recalled to TNIE that two operators had come quoting Rs 2500 and Rs 1000 each as landing fee towards the seaplane project.
“Unfortunately, the successive CMD maintained that it should be the state government floating the project, and not KSEB, before the union civil aviation ministry who does not want the state to operate. Instead, they sought an operator. It was at this point the project came to a standstill”, said Ashok.
The role of the board would have been only that of a facilitator of the project. Float Planes have been introduced earlier in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. The advantage for having a float plane is that it requires only a floating dock, adhering to the Director General of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security guidelines. Also, it can also fly to the four regular airports in the State. For operating helicopters, helipads have to be established in the destinations.
An incumbent senior board official told TNIE that the seaplane project envisaged by the KSEB should have taken off as it would have only benefited the consumers.
“The board has 18 major reservoirs with five big dams which have got national importance. The revenue from the seaplane project would have benefited only the consumers as it would have brought down the power tariff”, said a senior board official.
The KSEBL had also envisaged providing joy rides in these destinations, wherein sorties can be done for a small duration of time to give the tourists a first-hand feel of a float plane/helicopter.
