The Hindu : Bus service to Kainakary begins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 23, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Alappuzha

Bus service to Kainakary begins

By Our Staff Reporter

ALAPPUZHA, FEB. 22. It was an enact of a scene from 1950s. A whole village lined up along the sides of a newly completed road to welcome the first bus service to the village.

As the new KSRTC bus connecting the remote village of Kainakary in Kuttanad to Alappuzha town moved slowly to the village through the newly constructed road connecting Kainakary with the mainland by road, the people burst crackers.

The former MP, V. M. Sudheeran, who flagged off the bus at the Chavara Junction, said though he had participated in the inauguration of airports, he never witnessed such public enthusiasm.

A pilot vehicle moved slowly in front of the bus announcing its coming. "The dream of the people of Kainakary has finally become reality," blared one announcer. "The bus dreamt by the public for hundreds of years has finally arrived," another announcer gave vent to his joy in an exaggerated manner.

Karunakaran, Parakasseril house, Thottuva who had not gone out of his home for the last several years because of illness came to see the bus with the help of his friends.

There were several other persons like him. They had been waiting for 27 years to see the first bus service to their village. The bus was packed with the villagers. Those who could not find a place inside sat on the top of the bus. Some clung to the ladder.

The passengers said they wanted to be a part of the historic moment. The passengers included six nuns of the CMS Holy family convent, Kainakary. The passengers sung the "Vanchippattu," which are usually sung during boat races.

The driver of the bus, Santosh Kumar, was also a resident of Kainakary. He said he was proud to be the driver of the first bus to the village. The conductor, S. Surendran, hailed from Kanjippadam in Kuttanad taluk.

Villagers garlanded the driver and conductor at all the six junctions from the A.C. Road to the Kainakary jetty. It was in 1977 that the construction of a 3.5 km road connecting Kainakary to the mainland began. But its completion was delayed by various factors. It was a case filed by the Travancore Devaswom Board against the construction, which affected the completion the most, said D. Sugathan, MLA. The issue was recently settled at the initiative of the MLA.

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Bus service to Kainakary begins