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JNNURM boats may hit Kochi’s waters soon

Monday, April 1, 2013

The Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) officials and  National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) will hold  discussions at Thiruvananthapuram on Monday to explore the feasibility of running passenger boats in the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme.
The NATPAC is currently exploring the possibility of introducing ferry boats under the scheme in the state. “The NATPAC is holding talks with us in this regard. However, further decisions can be taken only after the meeting,” said KSWTD director Shaji V Nair.
Besides, the responsibility of running the boats may be handed over to agencies like KINCO, sources said. Meanwhile, Shaji V Nair said that as per plans, the boats currently run by the KSWTD won’t be part of the scheme.
“The KSWTD is planning to introduce new boat services through Kadambrayar  from Vyttila to Kakkanad as part of the metro-related project. The JNNURM  boats, if introduced, can be plied on newly-identified routes such as
Thevara-Kumbalangi and Thoppumpady-High Court,” the director added.
The JNNURM boats, unlike the state-run ferry boats, will be much bigger and steadier in size and durability. The project won’t be a financial burden as the funds will be provided by the Centre.  It was NATPAC which studied the feasibility of introducing JNNURM buses in the state. Though the Kochi Corporation was asked to form a Special Purpose Vehicle for the purpose, due to financial constraints and other political reasons, the responsibility of running the buses were handed over to the KSRTC.
Similarly, there were discussions at the Kochi Corporation-level to introduce boats under the JNNURM scheme a few years back. However, it did not realise as it required a huge study and approval from both the state and Central government side.

Source: http://newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article1524839.ece
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