Fibre boats of contention: Rs 4 crore sunk

KOCHI:  In 2006, the Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) procured 10 brand new fibre boats from the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) for use at Ernakulam and Kochi boat jetties. A year later, the boats hit the backwaters giving rise to hopes to thousands who have been depending on water transport as the sole means of getting around - in the Vypeen-Vaikom belt and Alappuzha.But these boats were taken out of the ferry service after a few months, leaving the passengers high and dry. Now, almost six years on, these boats are in a dilapidated condition beyond repair. For those keen to find a reason behind this abandonment of property worth about `4 crore then, they need not look beyond a tussle between the KSWTD and KSINC.KSWTD Director Shaji V Nair said that his department thought fibre boats would be handy as they had longer life compared to the boats made of wood and steel. “But the government decided against operating these boats. The reason they stated was that the boat which capsized in the Thekkady lake was made of fibre,” Nair said. Transport Minister V S Sivakumar told Express that the KSINC should pay back the cost of the boats with due interest to KSWTD. “A study conducted by an expert team from IIT, Chennai, about the quality of the boats found that the boats were of an inferior make. Now, the only way out is for the KSINC to return the amount.  We have issued the order to the KSINC a month back. But they have not responded till now,” Sivakumar said. The KSINC authorities have another take on this clash between two government agencies.“The KSWTD did not renew the IRS certificate after a year of the operation of the boats. This is the main reason why the boats could not ply in water. “How can we expect the quality of the boats to be good after they had remained in the waters unused for so many years. We are taking legal opinion as it makes no sense for us to be repaying the amount. In fact, it is KSWTD that has still to pay us Rs 1,50,000 in this deal,” a senior KSINC officer who did not wish to be quoted said.