Kochi Corporation to remove Pappy boat's contractor

Kochi: With the owner of the boat ‘Pappy’ refusing to operate ferry services in the Vypeen-Fort Kochi region for the last one week over a payment issue, the Kochi Corporation on Tuesday initiated strict action, including termination of agreement with contractor and middleman George Manoj.

Though the boat belongs to Alapuzha native Babu Varghese, the contract is between the Corporation and Manoj who was an intermediary in roping in the boat from Alapuzha after the Fort Kochi boat accident in August 2015. Varghese receives payment from the Corporation through Manoj.

“Our agreement is with Manoj and he violated the contract with the boat services getting disrupted for the last one week. We have issued a notice to him and intend to terminate the contract with him. We are in talks with many persons for deploying temporary boat services in the region,” Mayor Soumini Jain told DC.

The owner of ‘Pappy’, the temporary ferry deployed in the Fort Kochi-Vypeen section, stopped boat services last Wednesday claiming outstanding dues of over Rs six lakh. The development has resulted in acute commuting woes in the region with hundreds of students and office-goers among the affected.