Kochi: An underwater telescopic inspection will be carried out on the country’s first solar ferry boat on Friday to facilitate forensic evidence as part of the probe into the alleged sabotage attempt against it over two weeks ago.
Though the Kerala police had initially asked the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) to conduct a dry-dock inspection, the latter was against it as the same would result in the disruption of daily services in the 2.5- km-long Vaikom-Tavanakadavu section for nearly a month.
“An underwater telescopic inspection will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday and the same will be monitored by K. Shammy, surveyor of the Indian Registrar of Shipping. Top officers of the forensic wing of the Kerala police and also from the Kerala ports department will be present. The underwater parts surrounding the ‘rudder device’ will be inspected for evidence through the procedure,” said a senior SWTD official.
A technical committee meet held on Monday had decided against dry-docking terming the process as time-consuming and involving lengthy procedures such as getting the approval of the Indian Registrar of Shipping.
Earlier, the Vaikom police had recorded the statements of the SWTD staff over the incident.
Unidentified miscreants “removed” the rudder installation of the solar boat on February 1, putting in danger the lives of hundreds of daily commuters. The rudder device is used to change the direction and control the boat.
Following the incident, the SWTD had filed a complaint with the Kottayam superintendent of police while terming the “sabotage attempt” as deliberate to prevent the first such venture turning into a success and the subsequent roll-out of more solar ferries. The state handed over a request to the Union renewable energy ministry to allot funds for rolling out 10 more solar ferries on January 12.
