Vaikom-Ernakulam boat service by March next

Kochi: The project to run a high speed ferry boat service between Ernakulam and Vaikom has got a boost with the state government approving the financial sanction of '1.75 crore
out of Vaikom MLA K Ajith’s Local Area Development Fund.

State Water Transport Department Director Shaji V Nair said the boat service was now expected to sail in ten months time.

“The cabinet has sanctioned the fund and the official order will be out in a day or two. We will immediately begin tendering so as to realise the project at the earliest,” said Vaikom MLA K Ajith,

The service aims at tapping both passenger and tourist traffic. A CUSAT feasibility report suggested deploying high-speed boats so as to cover the section in 1.5 hours, much quicker than the road traffic at peak hours.

“The tendering process will take two months apart from eight months to build the new boat. The cost will be met out of the Vaikom MLA’s fund. The boat will have a passenger capacity of 200 commuters and conduct a minimum of three services mostly during the morning and evening peak hours,” Shaji said.

Traveling from Ernakulam to Vaikkom by road has turned out to be an ordeal due to traffic congestion in the Vytilla-Thrippunnithura stretch, thanks to the ever increasing vehicles and the narrow roads.

Dr Dileep K Krishnan, Reader, Ship Technology, CUSAT, said the study done by an expert team found the proposal feasible.

“There is no question of additional expenditure on factors like depth and boat jetties since the route falls on National Waterways 111. We are trying to fix the boat speed in such a way that the time taken is more or less the same. However, the real attraction will be pollution-less travel at a much cheaper rate. We want maximum people to use boat services especially during peak hours,” said Dileep.