Resentment is brewing against the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) for not resuming ferry services to Mattancherry. The services were halted in 2018 following the floods.
A few thousand commuters from the region, most of whom from economically weaker sections, who relied on ferries to commute to Ernakulam and other places, have to either travel by bus or go all the way to the Customs Jetty in Fort Kochi to board ferries. Bus commuters end up paying over thrice the ferry fare of ₹6 and also spend more than double the time to reach mainland Ernakulam, said Govind Madhav Mallaya of West Kochi Passengers’ Association.
“The SWTD has been citing inadequate depth at the Mattancherry Jetty for ferries to safely call at. They say wooden logs were washed into the jetty during the floods, although West Kochi was among the few places in the State which were unaffected by the floods. Moreover, double-decked tourist boats, which are much bigger than ferries, have been calling at the nearby tourist jetty without any hindrance. Even presuming that the SWTD jetty is shallow, we keep wondering why neither the department nor the Cochin Port Trust dredged the locale during the past two years,” Mr. Mallaya said.
Even worse, the SWTD has closed the ticket counter at the Fort Kochi ferry jetty, citing the pandemic situation. Subsequently, it has cut down the number of schedules too. This has resulted in commuters left to wonder when the next ferry will arrive from the mainland. Services to Vypeen have been operating despite all this, since the MLA there has taken a strong stand against reducing services. The SWTD has also failed to roll out modern catamaran vessels it had promised in the region, while the fast ferry that operated in the corridor has been withdrawn, he added.
A senior SWTD official said the Irrigation Department had to dredge the Mattancherry Jetty to ensure safe landing of ferries. “The counter at Fort Kochi was closed after many personnel tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. There has been a steep fall in the number of passengers, especially during off-peak hours, and hence we have cut down the number of services,” he said.
