Kochi Corporation trying to form SPV to run ro-ro vessels
The Hindu
Vypeen-Fort Kochi service has failed to earn the civic body any revenue
After wasting five years and suffering huge financial loss, the Kochi Corporation is once again making attempts to run its roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) vessels on its own.
The Corporation Council has formed a sub committee, which includes members from both the ruling front and the Opposition, and the deputy secretary of the civic body, to come up with the suggestions for the formation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for operating the vessels.
Interestingly, the efforts of the earlier councils to form the SPV had reached nowhere though there had been persistent demand for its formation. This time, it is the ₹88-lakh bill for the repair of the vessels and another ₹2.20-crore bill for the proposed dry-docking of the vessels that have revived the attempts for the formation of the SPV.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.