A Historic Boat Ride

   The waterway from Thiruvananthapuram (Kovalam) passing through the Varkala tunnel was the life-line of Southern Kerala (viz Travancore) before independence. It was a conduit for carrying both agricultural produce and industrial products for trade and commerce. But after independence it slid into decadence and for the last three decades it was in total disuse. Now the LDF Government under Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has decided to renovate this canal for traffic as part of developing the West Coast National Waterway from Kovalam to Neeleswaram.

On 19th October, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan came down to the entry point of the Varkala tunnel to see its present condition and future capabilities for navigation. Chief Minister made a historic boat ride through the tunnel accompanied by Minister M.Vijayakumar, MLA Varkala Kahar and important officials. Chief Minister took half an hour to travel through the 722 metre long tunnel and to come back. Later he inspected the Ramanthali Portion of the tunnel.

It is envisaged to develop the canal including the Varkala and Chilankoor tunnels into a 14 metre wide and two metre deep waterway connecting it with the Kovilthottam and Nadayara portions of backwaters. Global tenders will soon be invited for this work. The Kovalam-Kollam sector of the National Waterway will be completed in the next two years. Work on the Kollam-Kottapuram segment is completed and it will be opened to traffic in November. It is also expected to complete works on the Kottapuram – Neeleswaram part