Raising various demands, houseboat owners in Alappuzha under the aegis of the All Kerala Houseboat Owners Samyuktha Samithi will organise a march and dharna in front of District Collectorate here on October 16.
The samithi said the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) was charging exorbitant penalties (₹75,000) from boats without pollution certificates. It urged the PCB to rectify its wrong policies. The owners called for the withdrawal of the Inland Vessels Act and demanded the immediate reopening of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at H- Block (Kunnumma).
It is mandatory for all houseboats to empty septage at an STP every three months in order to renew the annual licence for operation. The STP operated by the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) had taken a hit from floods and subsequently shut down after the PCB found flaws in its functioning. Later, the PCB rejected an application submitted by the DTPC for renewing its licence in 2019. Though the DTPC launched work to upgrade the plant, it is yet to be made operational.
