BOAT TRANSPORT SERVICES

During British period, the rivers and lakes were connected by canals from Tirur in Malabar to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala and the motor boats economically transported goods and passengers. The water transport had helped a lot in the Island’s all round development. Kumbalam was one of the southern borders of the erstwhile State of Cochin. It was a hub for relations and friends to stay on their way to Muzuris and later Mattancherry town the main trading hubs of Cochin.

During the   fifties of the twentieth century, the only long distance transport was by the Swaraj Motor Service, a private boat service. Thereafter, the S.W.T.C. (State Water Transport Corporation) boat services and thereafter K.W.T.C. boat services commenced from Kollam to Mattancherry and Ernakulam via Edathua. It used to stop at the boat jetty on our Island, which was near our parish church. Thomas Powathil was the Jetty Master who issued tickets to the commuters. ‘Valliachachan’, my maternal grandfather, used to come and pick us in that boat, on our way to Neerackal at Muttuchira, our mother’s parental house. The boat used to have a schedule stop at Vaikom where we had to disembark to proceed to Muttuchira by bus.

During the latter half of the twentieth century scheduled boat services commenced from Arookutty to Ernakulam through the eastern side of Kumbalam Island. This service started with a few boats and later when people started moving around more often, a handful of other boats too joined them. They all had varied names like Cochin, Ambika, Alias, Crown, Omanakumari, Mother Mary and John Mathai. Sarojam, one of the smallest boats, went through the tiny Nettoor Canal to Chathamma. Another boat named Leela started service through the western side of Kumbalam to meet the commuter’s demand. By the last quarter of the Twentieth century an express boat of KINCO (Kerala Inland Navigation Corporation) commenced operations from Perumbalam to Ernakulam. This journey was very convenient and a comfortable one too as it took only fifteen to twenty minutes from Kumbalam North Jetty to Ernakulam. I spend the time to watch the picturesque sights around or reading one or two chapters from the Reader’s Digest.

In June 1987, the National Highway (NH-47) which passes through the South end of Kumbalam Island was commissioned for traffic. The Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram railway line via, Alleppy too was operational up to Alleppy in 1988 and later on this was extended up to Thiruvananthapuram. Kumbalam has a major railway station too in the south-eastern part of Kumbalam.  It is the southern gateway to Cochin City for people coming from Alleppy and the other southern districts of Kerala State. It is also a significant landmark in the National Highway and Southern Railway maps. The transport facilities through NH-47 and the Railway Station gave relief to the commuters at the south end of Kumbalam and the nearby sister Island Panangad. A bund road that connected Cheppanam and Chathamma with Panangad gave the commuter’s of those neighbouring sister islands too access to the NH-47. But this posed a threat to the Kerala Water Transport Services and KINCO boat services plying through the backwaters on the western side of our island. Gradually all the private boats that operated through the backwaters on the eastern side of our Island also stopped their services from Arookutty to Ernakulam, which created a vacuum. Islanders settled in the northern half portion of Kumbalam still depend on the ferry service, which shuttles between Kumbalam ferry and Thevara ferry since the transport facility through NH-47 is a circuitous route.  It is very expensive and a time consuming one. The short trip by boat from our Kumbalam ferry to Thevara ferry, which is just across our island, is more convenient as innumerable city buses commence their services from there to the various destinations in and around Ernakulam. 

Excerpts from

MEMOIRS

An autobiography

by

Joseph J. Thayamkeril

Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.

josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com

josephjthayamkeril@gmail.com