KOTTAYAM: The National Waterway-3 from Kollam to Kottapuram will be commissioned by August, Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran said on Sunday.

He was speaking at an interactive session on Inland Waterway Development Prospects in Kerala organised by the South Indian Chamber of Commerce here.

The National Waterway-3, announced during the tenure of the V.P. Singh Government, was delayed by over 17 years. The LDF Government was moving ahead with the project in all earnestness to ease the heavy load of cargo traffic through the highways, Mr. Premachandran said.

The opening of the waterway would bring about a qualitative change in the development of the State, he said. Work on the renovation of the two extreme reaches was on, though the extension of the waterway to these two reaches still remained undecided.

The development of the southern reach from Kollam to Kovalam and the northern reach from Kottapuram to Neeleswaram could not be declared as part of the National Waterway system as the State was not able to provide enough land for the widening as per the stipulations of the Union Government, he said. Though not of the National Waterway standard, these stretches would, however, be developed and made available for freight traffic, he said. The work was expected to be completed by 2010, he said.

The Government was aware of the importance of Centrally-sponsored schemes in the inland water transport sector and the Chief Minister had taken up the matter with the Central authorities who were bent upon scrapping these programmes, he said. The Centrally-sponsored schemes include the deepening of the Kodimatha-Vembanad Lake waterway, modification of the Thanneermukkom Bund, and revival of Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes.

The development of waterways would act as a catalyst for the development of Central Kerala, Mr. Premachandran said. The Rs.60-crore projects for the Kottayam-Vaikom, Kottayam-Alappuzha and Changanassery-Alappuzha reaches would begin immediately.

These projects, being implemented as part of the Kerala State Transport Project, would be completed within 12 months, he said.

In his keynote address, Rear Admiral B.R. Menon, chairman, Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation Ltd., stressed the need for comprehensive development of Inland Water Transport (IWT) in the State which accounts for more than 12 per cent of the total inland waterways in the country, though only 2.3 per cent of the land area.

However, at present, the IWT handled only 1.38 per cent of the freight traffic and 1.65 per cent of the passenger traffic, he said.

The IWT in the State would soon get a face-lift. But if it was to be fruitful, the four elements of the system - routes, vessels, terminals and controls - should be properly planned and managed in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

With the commissioning of the National Waterway-3, Kerala would become the first State to provide airport to seaport accessibility through inland waterways, he said.

V.N. Vasavan and Thomas Chazhikkadan, MLAs, spoke.

Representatives of the business community participated in the interactive session.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail