By Express News Service

KOCHI: The possibility of introducing a tram service from Thoppumpady to Fort Kochi instead of extending the metro rail is under consideration, said A P M Mohammed Hanish, managing director of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL). Haneesh was speaking at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), Cochin, the other day.

In his keynote address, Hanish said KMRL work is progressing rapidly and it has been decided the construction work of the recently approved second phase, instead of handing over to a third party, will be carried out by KMRL, “which will make it even better”.

Asked about the concern of the Chinese fishing nets being put into jeopardy due to the proposed water metro jetty, he said it was illogical to assume the Chinese fishing nets will be affected, especially at a time when the state government has decided to spend crores to rejuvenate them. He added that around 75 modernised boats in collaboration with a French company are also being proposed to be introduced connecting many useful destinations in and around Kochi which will help reduce the traffic congestion as well as promote tourism in the next 18-24 months.

Being the CEO of the Cochin Smart City Mission Ltd as well, Hanish said the next 12 months will see a major facelift to the Smart City proposed areas like Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, MG Road and Marine Drive. He said a feeder system to incorporate auto rickshaws, taxi cars, buses and boats with Kochi Metro will be launched soon, allowing the public to utilise all modes of transportation using the single ‘Kochi One’ card. This will resolve the last mile connectivity issues to a large extent.

The Metro chief reckoned that KMRL arguably has the best crew on board for a government organisation and if given a chance to revive the Mullassery and Rameshwaram canals with the required funds, they will be happy to do so.

Indian Chamber president Rajesh Agarwal delivered the welcome address. Councillors T K Ashraf, Shiny Mathew, Shyamala Prabhu and Sheeba Lal were also present on the occasion. ICCI vice-President Madhusudan Gupta gave the vote of thanks.