PM Modi on 2-day Kerala visit, will launch India’s first water metro, meet church leaders

Mangalore Today News Network

Kochi, April 24, 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the country’s first water metro service, connecting Kochi’s islands to the mainland, on Tuesday. During his two-day Kerala visit from Monday, PM Modi will attend several other programmes and hold a meeting with senior church leaders.

 

The one-of-its-kind project will provide safe, affordable, and pocket-friendly travel for people in and around Kochi and also boost tourism. In the first phase, the water metro will start sailing with eight electric-hybrid boats on two routes, High Court to Vypin and Vyttila to Kakkanad. The single journey ticket fare for the High Court to Vypin route has been pegged at Rs 20. The fare for Vyttila to the Kakkanad route will be Rs 30.

Other than the single-journey tickets, Kochi Water Metro will also have weekly, monthly, and quarterly passes. As an inaugural offer, commuters can enjoy discounts for their purchase of various trip passes. A weekly trip pass with 12 trips will cost Rs 180 while the monthly trip passes valid for 30 days with 50 trips will cost Rs 600. The quarterly pass will cost Rs 1,500 and passengers will be able to avail 150 trips within a period of 90 days. Mobile QR tickets can be booked through the Kochi One app.

According to Loknath Behera, MD of Kochi Water Metro Limited and Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, the first route, High Court to Vypin will start operations from April 26 at 7 am and the second route, Vyttila to Kakkanad will start from April 27 at 7 am.

He said by availing the water metro service, people can reach Vypin from High Court Water Metro Terminal in less than 20 minutes.

The estimated travel time from the Vyttila Water Metro terminal to Kakkanad terminal is around 25 minutes. Initially, the water metro service will start at 7 am and continue till 8 pm. During the peak hours, boats will operate in the High Court to Vypin route every 15 minutes.

Passengers can travel in both Kochi metro and water metro using the "Kochi 1" card. They can also book the tickets digitally, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan shared on Facebook.

ALL ABOUT PM MODI’S VISIT

PM Modi will land at INS Garuda naval air station in Kochi around 5 pm on Monday and from there travel as part of a roadshow to Sacred Heart College Grounds.

Security has been tightened along the route of the roadshow with 2,060 police personnel being deployed in the city as part of the arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit.

At the college ground, the PM will address a public meeting and also interact with the youth as part of the ’Yuvam 2023’ programme.

While his itinerary does not mention it, senior BJP leaders have confirmed that PM Modi will be meeting senior priests of the Christian community after the youth conclave.

Eight prominent senior priests of various churches in the state have been invited to meet the PM at the Taj Malabar hotel here where Modi will be staying. The BJP in Kerala is aiming to use the PM’s visit as a springboard for its outreach campaign for bringing youth and minorities into its fold.

Courtesy: India Today