Keral state’s ambitious National Waterways project is set to attain a noteworthy milestone with the commissioning of a 235-km stretch from Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram to Chettuva in Thrissur soon. Official sources said the stretch will be made navigable and commissioned by April or May this year.
The ambitious West Coast Waterway project aims to develop the 590-km-long canal system running parallel to the state’s coastline from Kovalam to Bekal. The project, designed to interconnect Kerala’s backwaters and rivers, aims to enhance transportation, trade, and tourism in the state by 2026.
An official with the Kerala Waterways Infrastructure Ltd (KWIL), the special purpose vehicle roped in by the government for the National Waterways project, said tourism will benefit the most once 235-km stretch of National Waterways is commissioned.
590-km West Coast Canal (WCC) connects Kovalam in the south to Neeleswaram in the north. It traverses through 11 districts of Kerala. The waterway from Kovalam to Bekal in Kasaragod is proposed to be developed to a width of 40m and a draft of 2.20m for canals to enable large-scale movement of cargo, in phases. 235 km of the WCC –part of National Waterways – from Akkulam to Chettuva likely to be commissioned within two months. Around H300 crore spent by the state to make the stretch navigable. The phase II of the project which focuses on eviction and rehabilitation of people living on the banks of the canals is under way, and KIIFB has sanctioned an additional H247.3 crore to rehabilitate 1,275 families residing on the banks of Kovalam-Varkala stretch.