Kochi: Dry dock to speed up boat repairs at low cost

Kochi: A relief for thousands of commuters who were often bothered by frequent cancellations of boat trips is in the offing.

A modern dry dock facility has been readied at Alappuzha and its state-of -the art modernization will be completed in six months time which will eventually drastically cut the repairing of boats operated by the department across the State.

So far it was a common sight at main jetties like Ernakulam where at least seven boats were pulled out of operation and left to rust for years altogether without carrying the repairs. With the dry dock being readied, the authorities have finally began repairing them, starting with ‘S-3’.

“We’ve already brought eight such boats to the dock. The dock is being modernized through a Rs 2.7 crore project that includes setting up of two lifts and huge cranes like that of shipyards. Once the same is done in another six months, boat repairs will be carried out fast unlike the current system which takes up to eight months for their repair,” said Shaji V Nair, SWTD director.

Currently, the travel woes have compounded in key sections like Ernakulam-Fort Kochi with the SWTD forced to withdraw at least four boats from service after they encountered various technical glitches.

“The travelling woes have compounded like never before. Now daily the boats at 7.45 am, 8.15 am, 9.30 am. 10.15 am and 11.15 am from Fort Kochi are being cancelled. We’re forced to wait for nearly two hours before we could catch a boat,” said S Padmanabha Mallya, Secretary, Pashchimakochi Passengers Association.

Meanwhile, Shaji said the SWTD will start operating the state’s first solar catamaran boat in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu section by Onam. “Only normal fares will be charges though we’re using catamaran boats,” he said.