KMRL draws flak for not starting work on Water Metro jetty at Mattancherry

Work to be retendered; most other jetties are in different stages of completion

KOCHI

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is facing flak for not starting work on the Water Metro jetty at Mattancherry even as the first phase of the waterway project is slated for inauguration in a month in the Marine Drive (High Court)-Vypeen corridor.

Most other jetties of the ₹747-crore project are in different stages of completion. The worst part is that ferries operated by the State Water Transport department (SWTD) stopped calling at Mattancherry, which is home to a host of heritage structures, over three years ago, citing inadequate depth near the premises of the jetty owned by the department.

It has resulted in the perception gaining ground that residents and traders of Mattancherry and tourists visiting the area are being meted out a shoddy treatment by the State government and agencies that are into waterway transport, despite water transport providing faster and economical connectivity than through roads.

Kerala Handicraft Dealers and Manufacturers’ Welfare Association secretary Arafat Nazar spoke of how waterway connectivity to the heritage locale was being neglected during the past many years. “This despite the fact that it was from Mattancherry that ferries began operating in Kerala. Readying of a Water Metro metro jetty whose deadline expired in 2020, and speedy resumption of services of SWTD ferries held the key to invigorating tourism and allied trade in the area. It will also provide waterway connectivity to Vypeen and Fort Kochi, besides providing tourists a view of the innumerable heritage buildings while sailing through the backwaters. This in turn will help the locale become a truly world-class heritage zone,” he said.

The association recently took exception to the contractor not constructing the Water Metro jetty, despite accepting mobilisation advance from KMRL. The jetty building would also have provided parking space, toilets, and eateries that were wholly inadequate in the area. It would also reduce the number of cars and other vehicles in the locale which has narrow roads, it said.

Sources in KMRL attributed the delay in kick-starting work on the jetty to the contracting firm being unable to do so. “This work will be retendered since it has been ‘de-scoped’ from the list of jetties that had been entrusted to the firm. We have readied new tender documents and sent them to the funding agency [German lending agency KfW] for its approval,” they said.