Halted Ro-Ro services leave commuters annoyed

KOCHI: Roshi E J was frustrated when he heard the news, on Saturday morning, that both roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) services had been halted due to technical glitches. And the resident of Mundamveli in Fort Kochi was not alone. Hundreds of other residents who depend on the Ro-Ro service to commute between Vypeen and Fort Kochi were affected.

One of the vessels, Sethusagar 2, was back in service by 4pm on Saturday. “Both the Ro-Ro services see high footfall every day. The service disruption of one vessel causes huge trouble for daily commuters like me. This time, when both the vessels ground to a halt, it became very difficult,” said Roshi, who works for a container terminal company in Vypeen. “For people like me with basic pay, it’s difficult to manage household and fuel expenses simultaneously. The junker service helps us save time and money. However, the erratic service in recent months has hit me hard in the pocket,” he added.

The State Water Transport Department (SWTD) pressed into service some passenger boats by 8pm on Saturday to transport tourists.

The Ro-Ro vessels are owned by Kochi Corporation and operated by Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC). “Both vessels developed complaints to their clutch unit. To repair Sethusagar 1, technicians from Mumbai will have to arrive with imported spare parts,” a KSINC official said.

According to a KSINC engineer, pollution in the backwaters, especially ropes, water hyacinth, and tyres, cause an extra load on the propulsion, damaging the clutch unit.

“By Ro-Ro, it takes less than 10 minutes to reach Vypeen from Fort Kochi, whereas by road, it takes at least 45-50 minutes,” commuters said. The Vypeen-Fort Kochi Passengers Association has demanded the quick rollout of a third Ro-Ro service, for which the state government has budgeted Rs 10 crore.