A boat ride reliving the history of Muziris

KOCHI: Tourists might soon be able to relive the history of ancient port city Muziris. The Kerala Tourism Department plans to build 14 boat jetties along the 50-km waterway in the Muziris Heritage Site.  Circular boat services based on different themes will soon ply between the boat jetties. The Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) began the construction work of the jetties last week.The government has allotted six months for the completion of five jetties under group ‘A’ and a year for the rest under group ‘B’. “The jetties in group ‘A’ will be at North Paravoor, Kottapuram Market, Kottapuram Fort, Kottayil Kovilakam and Krishna Temple Paliam. The group ‘B’ jetties will be at Pattanam, Kodungallur Reception Centre, Kottakavu Church, Thiruvenchikulam Temple, Pallipuram Fort, Sahodaran Ayyappan, Gothuruthu Cheria Palli, V K Rajan Memorial Park and Sree Narayana Park. The estimated cost for the project is `4.6 crore,” KSINC Managing Director Captain (Retd) C Unnikrishnan said.  Boats will be the primary source of transportation within the heritage site area. Kodungallur and North Paravoor will be the transport hubs of the circuit. “The use of boats will ease the pressure on roads, parking lots etc., near the monuments. During the trip, official guides can inform tourists about the monuments and tell them their history,” the consultation draft of the Conservation Development Plan for Muziris Heritage Site stated.Fourteen circuit tours based on different themes have been proposed. While one circuit will enable tourists visit the European monuments of the site, another one will be based on the temples.Another circuit will be a tour to Kodungallur palaces. The survey for the project was done by the hydrographic wing in January. But the project got stalled due to elections and the absence of a special officer. “The waterways have to be dredged at many spots. There are proposals to build toilets and other amenities for people living on the banks,” E C Jude, senior technical officer of Hydrographic Survey Wing, North Paravoor, said.