The boat service from Kottayam to Alappuzha, one of the oldest transportation routes in Central Travancore, which had remained disrupted for five years, resumed on Wednesday. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, flagged off the boat from the renovated Kodimatha boat jetty.
According to Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) authorities there will be five services from Kottayam, each with a return trip. There will be one night service from Alappuzha which will conclude at Kanjiram about 2.5 km off Kodimatha and make an early return trip to Alappuzha.
The departure time from Kottayam are 6.45 a.m., 11.30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3.30 p.m., and 5.15 p.m. The boat services from Alappuzha starts at 7.30 a.m.; 9.30 a.m.; 11.30 a.m.; 2.30 p.m.; and 5.15 p.m. The boat fare between Kottayam and Alappuzha will be ₹19 and the running period is roughly two and a half hours.
The boat service between the two stations was disrupted after work on a bridge commenced at Kanjiram. After that the boat services from Alappuzha ended at Kanjiram. The stretch from Kodimatha had five lifting bridges, four of them operated manually and one mechanically. With the disruption of boat services, these bridges were in disuse resulting in their decay.
The work on the bridge was completed in November last and the heavy maintenance of the lifting bridges have also been completed paving way for the resumption of the boat service.