[vinair]

Kerala CM inaugurated the 520 KM water highway in Kerala today. This connects Kasaragod to the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram.

https://youtu.be/eCiik1wq0Rk

Other than this news on Youtube, couldn't find much details. Anyone has more info as to how this network works??

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by vinair

Kerala CM inaugurated the 520 KM water highway in Kerala today. This connects Kasaragod to the capital city of Thiruvananthapuram.

Anyone has more info as to how this network works??

As of now no one can go from one end of Thiruvananthapuram to the other in a boat through inland waterways so not sure how this will pan out till Kasaragod

That said, during the erstwhile rule of Maharajas of Travancore there used be a waterway which connected Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin used for goods and troop movement. Canals and tunnels built by rulers of Travancore connected rivers and lakes together to form a continuous navigable channel, but unfortunately most parts of the canals and tunnels are either lost or completely nonnavigable. The (in)famous parvathi puthanar in Thiruvananthapuram was once part of this network now in a very pitiable state. If authorities can fix the connection between Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram and Kadinamkulam lake, Anchuthengu lake, Ayroor lake, Paravur lake and Ashtamudi lake in Kollam then we can be assured about further connection to Ernakulam without any other major interruptions. But beyond that and towards further north I am not sure.

There already is a Kerala Waterways boat service from Kollam to Alapuzha. If anyone is interested you can take a boat from Kollam jetty near the KSRTC bus stand to Alapuzha.

National Waterway 3

[MSAneesh]

Originally Posted by vinair

Kerala CM inaugurated the 520 KM water highway in Kerala today.

Other than this news on Youtube, couldn't find much details. Anyone has more info as to how this network works??

You can see the National Waterway 3 (Kollam Kottappuram Waterway) route marked on google maps, starting at the Kollam KSRTC bus stand boat terminal to Kottappuram(Kodungallur). From Kollam, this extends to TVM through the Parvathy puthanaar canal.

On the other end, this extends to Ponnani and then via Kanoli Canal to kozhikode and beyond. Not sure, till where it is currently available in the north, i think at least till Kozhikode. There is some work going in the Kannur district to widen smaller existing canals.

Edit: just now saw that Sankar beat me to this post. Beyond Kottapuram, it goes via Chavakkad and then Canoli canal (pretty much the parvathy puthanaar of the central kerala).

While water transport is more efficient, not sure how sustainable is it. Pollution of the waterways is another big issue.

[deathwalkr]

That's a solar boat that was commissioned. Wasn't there some talk of a high speed boat connecting the north and south of the state? And a hydroplane as well?

[RedTerrano]

What do those solar panels power? The engine? Navigation lights? Mobile charger?
Unfortunately the audio is in Malayalam(?) which I do not understand.

Can someone please shed more light / translate?

[clevermax]

I think it is a pre-election gimmick to call it a 520km water highway. I have read some news about a solar powered boat being inaugurated last day.

[Samurai]

This is a trivia I heard from an old timer from Kerala.

When they were building national highways for the first time in the 50s, most Keralites were very skeptical. They couldn't understand why anyone would travel by roads when Kerala already had an excellent river boat network to reach every part of Kerala.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Samurai

They couldn't understand why anyone would travel by roads when Kerala already had an excellent river boat network to reach every part of Kerala.

Dunno about that, but it is true that travel was predominantly by boat during my grandparents' time in Alappuzha (Alleppey that time). My mom always said she learned to swim like how we learned to cross main roads in Bangalore as kids. A couple of years ago, when we took a local boat ride along the waterways while on holiday there and called up to tell her about it, she started laughing because that was her local commute to school for years! (Imagine if one of our children came to us in 40 years and said tourists were paying to be driven on Outer Ring Road as a holiday experience! )

So it's great if some of those existing routes are being revived for commuters.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

What do those solar panels power? The engine? Navigation lights? Mobile charger?
Unfortunately the audio is in Malayalam(?) which I do not understand.

Can someone please shed more light / translate?

Apart from the "Solar boat" mention in the news, there is no detail. But this is a solar powered boat built by Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).

Dedicating the new waterway, the chief minister travelled on solar-powered ‘Vembanad’ built by Cochin International Airport Ltd. MLAs V S Sivakumar, V Joy, Mayor Arya Rajendran, Additional Chief Secretary T K Jose and CIAL managing director V J Kurian attended the inaugural function. The 24-seater boat that was bought for passenger service in the sector, has 12 seats in an air-conditioned cabin. The 15-metre-long boat can travel at a speed of 10 nautical miles per hour.

Source

Coming to solar boats, there is another bigger ferry built by NavAlt for State Water Transport Department that is doing service between Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu

It has been 3 years since it is commissioned and is continuing operation (this itself is a big feat). It can be tracked here.

More info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditya_(boat)

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Apart from the "Solar boat" mention in the news, there is no detail. But this is a solar powered boat built by Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL).

Yes, this boat is built by CIAL. My cousin works for CIAL and he sent me pictures of this boat few days ago. Wonder how they got this boat transported to Trivandrum so fast May be there is a waterway connecting TRV and COK.

I would love to drive a boat - does anyone know what is the procedure to get a license to drive one?

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by am1m

Dunno about that, but it is true that travel was predominantly by boat during my grandparents' time in Alappuzha (Alleppey that time). My mom always said she learned to swim like how we learned to cross main roads in Bangalore as kids. A couple of years ago, when we took a local boat ride along the waterways while on holiday there and called up to tell her about it, she started laughing because that was her local commute to school for years! (Imagine if one of our children came to us in 40 years and said tourists were paying to be driven on Outer Ring Road as a holiday experience! )

So it's great if some of those existing routes are being revived for commuters.

Hi there, my mother is also from Alapuzha dist
Most of the main water routes she used during her college years and initial working years in the early 70s are still in service. The news about the waterway and the revival of the canal system in the southern part of the state has been going on for years. The sad part about it is that there used to be an excellent canal system and due to the general apathy of the people and the govt(s) it is now lost and whats remaining of it looks like an open drain system save for the "clean parvathy puthanar" week conducted once a year or so

[one-77]

There was an inland waterway built during the times of the Maharajas/ British connecting Cochin to North Malabar, called the Conolly Canal.
There are prominent parts of the canal still visible in Calicut, still navigable by boat. My maternal ancestral home was very close to it.
In Thrissur, whatever remains of the canal I’ve seen has been reduced to a drain due to encroachment; one can even jump across. I believe it is in the same state in most of it’s erstwhile course..
Reviving it and making it navigable again will require:
1. Huge capital (which our governments have), and
2. Huge political will to remove the encroachments (which they lack)

Here is the wiki link

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conolly_Canal

This is one of then many feats of yesteryear engineering that we lost to time and encroachment. Another one that’s awed me is the forest tram that was used to transport wood from what’s now part the Periyar tiger reserve to Cochin port.

[sandeepmohan]

On average, it takes 11 hours to cover the distance between these two places, by train. How long is it going to take by this water highway and with a boat like that? They will probably have to stop a dozen times to clear all the water hyacinth that jams the propeller.

Kerala's inland water ways are in a terrible state. They could not get a reliable service running between the Vytilla Hub and the IT Park at Kakkanad and they expect this to work!

Make sure you carry the biggest tube of Odomos if you do make the trip.

[igemini]

I am looking at this in an optimistic way. Totally aware that at least 95% of the general population might not be interested in ditching the road/rail transportation and opt for the waterway. The main reason shall be the travelling time that it will take, also it might not be super connected with the major places unless with secondary connections from the jetties to the major towns. Regardless, this has a huge potential for Tourism as well as for Cargo / Logistics. The cost for logistics can reduce substantially and if run effectively.

They are building a jetty somewhat near to my home for some time now and I believe it is related to this project.

[bhargav2015]

As if it wasn't sufficient that we decimated wildlife and built roads passing through National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and Ecosensitive Zones, killed and maimed millions of animals, retiles and birds, now we will successfully destroy our marine ecosystems too.
Awesome! Keep up the good work, Bharat-wasiyon, our end nears.