KSINC's 'Green boat' faces pollution hurdle in Kochi

Kochi: It's nearly a month since the new catamaran-type fiberglass boat  of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC)  was brought here from Timblo dry dock in Goa. The 20-seater boat, 'Cleopatra,' boasts of  two bio-toilets as part of the go-green initiative of the KSINC.  However, the corporation has  not been able to deploy the air-conditioned fast ferry in the Ernakulam-Fort Kochi section so far.  The reason:  The Kerala Pollution Control Board (PCB) has returned the corporation's application for mandatory pollution certificate citing that it has not entered  into a contract with any sewage treatment plant (STP) for disposal of the  'treated waste.'  

"The bio-toilet initiative is appreciable but they have not entered into an agreement with any STP. We can't issue the certificate unless they specify how the wastes will be disposed of.  Otherwise,  there is a threat of the waste being  deposited in the backwaters," said a PCB officer.    However, a KSINC official said they were  yet to find a contractor for the waste disposal.

"Obviously,  an agreement will be signed with an STP since we've bio-toilets. We're attempting the same and hope to get the PCB's nod soon," he said.  Registration processes have  been completed but the development has upset the corporation's plan to roll out the 'Green boat'  this month itself.   The boat can be operated at a speed of 12 nautical miles and has a special VIP cabin .