Nod for land to set up boat terminals

Terminals to come up at Kovalam, Akkulam and Vallakkadavu

Workers cutting trees as part of cleaning the Parvathy Puthanar at Vallakkadavu bridge in Thiruvananthapuram.

The State government has given the administrative nod for acquiring land for the construction of three boat terminals along the 18.5-km stretch of the waterway being rejuvenated from Kovalam to Akkulam that includes the Parvathy Puthanar.

The boat terminals are to come up in Kovalam, Akkulam and Vallakkadavu as part of the government’s ambitious ₹ 2,300-crore project to make the 633-km West Coast Canal (WCC), the main arterial waterway in the State, navigable.

The aim is to make the WCC from Kovalam to Kasaragod navigable by May 2020 with National Waterway (NW) specifications. The State government has given the nod to the Inland Navigation director’s proposal to acquire one acre of land in Thiruvallom village for the boat terminal at Kovalam, 3.50 acre of poramboke land in Pettah villlage for the terminal at Vallakadavu, and 5.24 acre in Kadakampally village for the terminal at Akkulam.

Orders issued

Costal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department has issued the orders enabling district administration and the Revenue department to commence proceedings to acquire the land for the three terminals. The land to be acquired at Thiruvallom village and Kadakampally villlage is spread over four survey numbers each.

As the 3.50 acre in Pettah village identified for Vallakkadavu boat terminal is poramboke land, the State government exchequer could save considerable money. But those who have encroached into the land has to be rehabilitated.

Already, the government has given administrative sanction for widening the Parvathy Puthanar by acquiring 772.93 acre of land spread over the villages of Thiruvallom, Muttathara, Pettah and Kadakampally at an estimated cost of ₹66 crore. As many as 1,500 families have to be rehabilitated on the stretch as per the detailed survey carried out by the district administration.

The nod has come at a time when the cleaning of Parvathy Puthanar is on under the supervision of Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department for the newly floated Special Purpose Vehicle, Kerala Waterways and Infrastructure Development Ltd (KWIL).

The rejuvenation of the waterway is being carried out using the ₹150 crore from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

Of the 74.18-km waterway from Kovalam to Kollam, only 27.5 km are navigable and 11.3 km partially navigable.

Apart from dredging and cleaning, three new bridges including those at Vallakkadavu and Puthenpalam, and reconstruction of all cross structures with dimensions lower than 5 m horizontal clearance and 3.7 m vertical clearance will be taken up.

Hydraulic bridges have been proposed at Puthenpalam, Karikkakom, and Panathura.