Survey results on Vembanad lake soon

KOCHI: The Hydrographic Survey wing will submit the last phase survey results on Vembanad Lake soon.Once completed, the survey will be the basis of the project to clear the  waterways of Vembanad Lake.  This will be a pilot project, a part of the Chief Minister’s 100-day programme, for further projects to clear waterways and ensure safety of vessels plying on them.  The survey is being conducted in two phases, one on the  Alappuzha-Thanneermukkom waterway and the other on  Alappuzha-Kumarakom.  “The Alappuzha-Thaneermukkom route has sufficient depth,” said senior technical officer of Hydrographics, North Paravoor, E C Jude.“But,  the second route is more problematic,”  Jude added.  The prescribed depth is 2.2 metres below chart datum. But, some of the areas are as shallow as 50 cm. Sufficient dredging will have to be done in these areas, he said.  According to the suggestions put forward by the survey, the  routes will be dredged, concrete pillars and other blockages removed and areas marked with buoys.  “Accidents are one of the reasons behind undertaking the project. We had received a number of complaints from vessel and houseboats in the region,” said the deputy director of Ports, Captain Hari A Warrier.“As per the Inland Vessel Rule 2010, we have a responsibility to ensure safety of vessels plying on the inland waters,” he added.   Warrier said, “We will undertake similar works in the inland waters across the state in a phased manner. But, a number of factors have to be considered. For instance, in some of these areas, boat races are frequent.” Bouys in these areas will obstruct these, he added.  The Kerala Ports has put forward a proposal for allocation of `50 lakh for the development of Vembanad Lake but the state government is yet to release the funds.  “This is a completely new scheme, so fun ds have to be allocated separately for this. This is causing the delay. If it was an already existing one, we could have re-appropriated it from a different head,” he said.