Commuters to Kakkanad and Infopark have demanded an increase in the frequency of Water Metro ferries to Kakkanad since the bottlenecked Civil Line Road and other roads that lead to Infopark would be barricaded shortly to construct the viaduct for Kochi Metro’s 11.20-km Kakkanad extension.
The demand gains relevance since Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has not developed alternative roads that run parallel to Civil Line Road where barricades would come up at eight-metre width, to divert vehicles.
State president of Progressive Techies Anish Panthalani spoke of the gruelling time that commuters have been facing along the road that led to the district headquarters during the past years, even when there was no barricading in place. “The congestion was particularly bad in the Vazhakkala-Padamugal corridor. Making matters worse, public transport buses are not available from Infopark to the city and back after 7 p.m., prompting people to rely on autorickshaws and cabs,” he said.
In this situation, KMRL must develop alternative roads, while increasing the frequency of Water Metro ferries in the Vyttila-Kakkanad stretch. Water Metro ferries must operate every 15 minutes, at least during morning and evening peak hours. This will help commuters avoid Civil Line Road. It must also augment feeder buses from Kakkanad Jetty to Infopark, to ensure last-mile connectivity, he added.
The transportation committee of Progressive Techies has been engaged in a field study to ascertain the traffic problems that IT professionals and others faced.
There are others such as Ebenser Chullikat, an avid votary of public transport, who have been demanding an increase in the frequency of Water Metro ferry services in the Vyttila-Kakkanad and Marine Drive-Vypeen corridors, and also an extension of operating time. He cited the inadequate number of ferries and the need to frequently recharge the electric ferries as among the reasons for their frequency being limited to a ferry every 45 minutes to Kakkanad and demanded that KMRL try out CNG-run ferries as an alternative.
Every 30 minutes
Responding to this, informed sources said that efforts are under way to operate ferries every 30 minutes to Kakkanad, from Wednesday. “Recharging the ferries overnight would entail the need for a much-bigger space within them to store batteries. Since this is not practicable and power has to be stored for propulsion, air conditioning, and other needs, they are put to ‘opportunity charging’ for 15 minutes, every hour or so. Their frequency can be increased when this fast-charging facility that is now available only at Vyttila, is readied shortly at the Kakkanad Jetty. Moreover, an additional e-bus will be deployed to operate feeder service from the jetty to Infopark.”
Ruling out the possibility of CNG ferries in the immediate future, they said such ferries needed huge engines while certifying agencies are yet to approve such vessels. “A total of three ferries operate to Kakkanad now. More ferries could have been deployed if Cochin Shipyard had rolled them out as promised. It is understood that two more ferries would be made available in September,” they added.
