Low tide, sludge keep boats off Mattancherry

Kochi: The State Water Transport Department (SWTD) boats skip the Mattancherry boat jetty during low tides as the concerned authorities take no action to remove the sludge deposited along the shores.

“This is the case for many years now. The boat services are often cancelled suddenly, leaving hundreds of Ernakulam and the Island-bound passengers stranded,” Paschima Kochi Passengers Association secretary S. Padmanabha Mallya said.

“While it’s a ten-minute ride to the Island by boat, the buses take one and a half hours. Also one has to dole out thrice the amount as ticket fare instead of Rs 4 on boats. The boat services were cut short even today morning due to low tides”.

However, the SWTD officials passed the blame to the irrigation department. “The boats cannot reach the shore due to the sludge deposited during low tides. They have to do the dredging work,” said Joseph Xavier, previously the Ernakulam regional superintendent of SWTD, now posted in Alappuzha.

“We officially requested for their help over four years ago. However, no action was taken yet”.

Mr Mallya, meanwhile, blamed the authorities for continuously ignoring the issue while the islanders find it increasingly difficult to reach the mainland.

“The state government has allotted Rs 4.9 lakhs for dredging works at Kakkanad in Kadam-brayar but no dredging work was started despite the issue being pending for years now,” he said.