A Water Metro ferry operates in the Vyttila-Kakkanad corridor.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
Enthused by the patronage for Water Metro ferries from the city to Vypeen and Kakkanad, people from densely populated areas near waterbodies have demanded their share of Water Metro jetties.
Among them is Mannanthuruth, located off NH 66 and National Waterway-III in Varapuzha.
This comes close on the heels of Uma Thomas, MLA, demanding ferry jetties at Arattukadavu and Thuthiyoor on the Vyytila-Kakkanad route to benefit commuters from the adjacent densely populated and fast-developing areas.
Abrachan Pudussery, a project management expert residing at Mannanthuruth, is spearheading a hashtag campaign titled ‘We Want Water Metro’, calling attention of Kochi Water Metro Limited (KWML) to the availability of adequate government land, including ‘puramboke’ space, to station a ferry jetty at one end of the area. “A few buses operate services to the locale, which could be augmented further for last-mile connectivity from the jetty. Water Metro ferries would be of tremendous help to people who now depend mostly on two- and four-wheelers to commute to the city, spending considerable sum on fuel and toll for using Container Road. The potential for water transport can be gauged from the fact that a total of 18 ferry services operated to the area from the mainland till around 20 years ago,” he said.
This is apart from the fact that NH 66 is being widened as a six-lane stretch, and areas on either side are witnessing fast-paced development. Residents of Allangad too had demanded a Water Metro jetty in the vicinity.
Meanwhile, KWML sources said the demand could be considered in the second phase of the Water Metro project.
“There are already 38 jetties on 15 routes spread over 76 km. More of them can be readied once the project makes substantial progress. The number of daily commuters now hovers at over 5,000 on the two routes where ferries began operating in April,” they added.
The number is expected to increase phenomenally when the ferries begin calling at the Fort Kochi jetty, where a marine platform ought to be readied in a month or two to help commuters board the ferries.