Come February 2, the Kodoor river that runs through the heart of Kottayam town will present a spectacle from another age – wooden rowing boats moving people to and forth its vast line of aquatic network.
This scheduled procession of canoes, covering a total length of 28.5 kilometer from Pazhukkanila Lake to Puthupally on the upstream, marks the opening of the river as a cruising loop. Named Padiyarakkadu water tourism project and initiated by the Meenchil-Meenanthara-Kodoor River linking project, it also marks the culmination of a three-year-long initiative to restore the river to its lost glory.
According to K. Anil Kumar, convener of the river linking initiative, the route will link up several local tourist attractions such as Malarikkal or Pallam and take the boats up to the Panchikkad Bhagavathi temple and the Puthupally church on the eastern end.
A needed plan
“The tourism circuit with its opening from Kumarakom comprises the river and several of its adjoining canals having connections to several interior destinations. The plan is to flow life into the river by keeping the holiday cheer,” he said.
The opening of the route will be followed up by various local tourism festivals, which will be organised at seven destinations along the circuit starting from Malarikkal on February 2. Further, plans are also afoot to extend the circuit up to the Manarcad church, an international pilgrimage centre, by late next year.
The waterways along the Kodoor river lost its significance with the expansion of the road networks and they fell into an even sorrier state in the last decades with the canals silting up and even levelled overtime.
The river linking project, through works taken up in different phases over the last couple of years, stabilised its canals and even dredged the channels.
Paddy farming
The restoration of the river network also enabled the people’s collective to restore paddy farming in a waste area of polder network surrounding it.
Meanwhile, District Collector P.K. Sudheer Babu will flag off the first tourist boat to be launched in the Kodoor river here on January 16. The boat, having a capacity to carry 15 persons, is being run by a private operator.
