Electric boats procured under the Kochi Water Metro project will begin services from December 2020, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

The project envisages a total of 78 ferries. Of them, order has been placed with the Cochin Shipyard to construct 23 ferries, each having 100 seats. The rest will have 50 seats.

The first lot of ferries is slated to operate on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route.

In 2019, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL), government of Kerala, and German funding agency KfW had…

signed an agreement of ‘accompanying measures’ (grant of 1.8 million Euros) for the ₹740-crore Water Metro project. The grant is for identifying the needs of capacity building for the operation and maintenance wing of the project. It includes training needs and modalities of operation and maintenace structure and training of trainers.

The project will cover 16 routes in the Greater Kochi area, connecting 38 terminals across 10 island communities, across a 78-km channel length.

The aim is to provide better connectivity of islands around Kochi with the mainland, which will in the long run also augment patronage for the Kochi metro.

Kochi metro’s reliance on solar power will go up to 60% in another six months.

Kerala will roll out 6,000 electric buses by 2025. E-autos too will be introduced on a larger scale (a dozen of them operate in Kochi now).

Steps are also being taken to increase the number of electric vehicles in the State to bring down pollution.

Already, Kerala has the first solar ferry in India (which operates on the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu stretch), Mr. Vijayan said at a webinar hosted by the Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

He added that five major canals in Kochi would be cleaned and renovated as part of a ₹1,200-crore scheme.

“We must think of ways to preserve nature in the wake of the threat posed by COVID-19. Studies show that air and water have become cleaner following the lockdown. Steps are being taken to encourage planting of fruit trees and afforestation. A total of 1,000 acres under local bodies will be converted into green zones by the end of the month,” the Chief Minister said.