Kottayam: The boat services from Kottayam to Alappuzha will be resumed from Kodimatha from August first week as the maintenance work on the five bridges, including Chungathu Mupathulift bridge, will be completed soon.
The boat services had been paralysed for over one-and-ahalf years as these bridges were in a dilapidated condition.
The municipality's public works division has undertaken the maintenance of the bridges, including Parechal, Pathinalilchira, Nadankary and Kanjiram.
Currently the boat services begin at Kanjiram affecting a large number of passengers. The mechanised Chungathu Mupathu lift bridge can be raised vertically up to 85- degree angle to permit passage of boats.
The boat services which begin from Kodimatha pass through Karapuzha, Pathinanchilkadavu, Kanjiram jetty, Vettikadu, Aaru block and go to Alappuzha through the Vembanadu lake and return, conducting a total of 2 trips to and fro.
K.K. Najeeb, assistant station officer of State Water Transport Department (SWTD), Kottayam, said that due to the absence of the service from Kodimatha to Kanjiram, there was an average daily loss of Rs 4,000.
From Kodimatha to Alappuzha, the fare is only Rs 18 and from Kanjiram to Alappuzha Rs 15.
The disruptions in boat services had badly hit the people residing in the backwater regions of the district.
Sanil Chanakalil, chairman of the public works department of Kottayam municipality, told DC that the boat services would begin next month.
