The delay in clearing bottlenecks in the 365-km Kollam-Kozhikode National Waterway-III (NW-III) and in the 610-km Kovalam-Bekal West Coast Canal (WCC), which will link the southern and northern districts, has led to the delay in commencement of boat services in the Kovalam-Mahe corridor.
The services were set to be launched in May 2020, including through NW III that was commissioned about 15 ago. The development of the WCC, which passes through 11 districts and includes NW-III which is being developed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), holds the key to decongesting the narrow and accident-prone roads and highways in Kerala by lessening the number of goods carriers.