Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004
Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004 |
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Thiruvananthapuram
By S. Anil Radhakrishnan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 5. An eight-seater deck boat of Italian make, bought by Kerala Tourism and introduced for cruise at the Veli tourist village in August this year, has suspended service due to some technical snag. Efforts by the authorities concerned to get it repaired also proved futile. "Repair works of the speed boat have been stalled due to non-availability of spare parts. We are in touch with local agents and the spares are expected to arrive in a week from Italy," a senior official of Kerala Tourism told The Hindu.
Object hits propeller
Kerala Tourism had handed over the boat to the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), which looks after boat operations in the tourist village. The Rs. 12.26-lakh imported boat, made of fibreglass and partly covered, had developed snag after some unidentified object hit the propeller during its cruise. The incident took place reportedly subsequent to the district authorities cutting open the sand bar, leaving water level in the lake low. Incidents of propeller getting jammed after hitting floating objects are a regular feature during the cruise. All kinds of garbage and dumped articles find an easy way to the lake and often get entangled in the propeller, sources said. "Snag developed by Indian-made boats is rectified locally by qualified personnel as the propellers are of pin type. Moreover, three substitute engines have been made available to ensure that the boating is in no way affected," KTDC sources said. Since the imported deck boat has a bush type propeller, spare parts are needed to rectify the snag or the engine had to be replaced, sources said. The deck boat is the first of a series of boats being purchased at a cost of Rs. 1.50 crores by Kerala Tourism for augmenting water sports at five major tourist centres in the State. Powered by an 80 cc engine, the deck boat can attain high speed and can be deployed even in the sea. It was a big draw among the domestic tourists who arrived at the village.
Tourists worried
Tourists are worried whether the deck boat will meet the same fate as the hovercraft unsuccessfully introduced by the KTDC at Veli in 1988 and 1998. The delay caused by the manufacturing company based in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh to attend to snags during the guarantee period was responsible for the hovercraft purchased for Rs. 9.45 lakhs in 1998 running aground. The battery of the BN2D model hovercraft purchased by the corporation in January 1998 from the company developed snags within weeks after it was launched in the Veli lake. Later, the U.S.-made lift engine developed trouble and part of the foundation started rusting. The KTDC sources said the company was forced to take the craft back. In 1988, the KTDC had purchased a hovercraft from the same company and had launched it on a trial basis at Veli. After one-and-a-half years, the service was suspended citing technical snag and the craft was dumped in a shed near the Veli Youth Hostel.
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