Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the government will pay more attention to streamlining water transport.
Speaking after inaugurating the ro-ro jhankar service between Fort Kochi and Vypeen here on Saturday, Mr. Vijayan said Kochi held much significance in such a move as it was surrounded by water.
The government aims at a comprehensive transportation project consisting of metro rail, water transport, bus, taxi, and autorickshaws for Kochi. The city’s transportation scene will witness a sea change once Water Metro becomes a reality.
Mr. Vijayan hoped that the ro-ro service would become a model for other places in the State. Though two vessels — Sethu Sagar 1 and 2 — were launched, only one vessel conducted service on Saturday. The other will start operations on May 15.
The vessel ferried the official car of the Chief Minister from Fort Kochi to Vypeen to mark the launch of the service. Sweets were distributed among passengers when the vessel reached Vypeen under the aegis of Fort Vypeen Janakeeya Kootayma.
A vessel can carry four lorries, 12 cars, and 50 passengers. It will take 3.5 minutes for it to complete voyage in one direction. The vessels were built at a cost of ₹7.98 crore, while the construction of berths cost ₹7.73 crore.
Meanwhile, the Vypeen-Fort Kochi Ferry Passengers’ Association demanded that the gap between services be brought down from the proposed 25 minutes to 15 minutes.
“Considering that the vessels are modern, enabling quick embarkation and disembarkation of vehicles, it is very much possible to operate services at a far greater frequency. Besides, owing to the convenience, more vehicles are likely to avail the service, and hence, it is imperative to reduce the gap between services to fully serve the purpose,” said Francis Chammany, president of the association. Vehicles can be driven straight into the parking space and moved in the same direction while disembarking. It will bring down the time taken for embarking and disembarking, according to the civic authorities.
The association also handed over a memorandum to Mayor Soumini Jain, who presided over the inaugural function, demanding the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the operation of ro-ro vessels at the earliest and to conduct services till 11 p.m.
The Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) plans to operate the vessels from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Bishop Joseph Kariyil, K.V. Thomas, MP; MLAs K.J. Maxy, S. Sarma, Hibi Eden, and John Fernandez; GCDA Chairman C.N. Mohanan, Additional Chief Secretary Tom Jose, former MP P. Rajeev, councillors, and chairpersons of various standing committees attended the function.
