Kerala's waterways get boost as CM promises rejuvenation

In a boost to the water transportation and tourism sectors of Kerala, 520 kilometre-long waterways is being revived and Kochi water metro service was commissioned on Monday.

The waterways envisage reviving the water connectivity from Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram in the South to Bekal in Kasargod in the North as part of the national waterways.

Known as the West Coast canal, the waterway was defunct owing to pollution and encroachment of the canal. The first phase of making the existing canals navigable was commissioned on Monday. In the next phases, all encroachments would be cleared and feeder canals of 1,200 kilometres would be also developed.

In Kochi, the first phase of the water metro service was commissioned. The first phase offers connectivity from Vytilla to Infopark in Kakkanad. The water metro service was envisaged as part of the Kochi metro rail service.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan commissioned both the projects.