Flies around lake thrice, Kerala's 'sea plane' lands in Kochi

KOCHI: Kerala's seaplane has landed in Kochi. The seaplane landed at the Bolgatty backwaters at 3.30 pm. The seaplane, which will take off from Kochi's Bolgatty Palace at 9.30 am on Monday, will land at Mattupetti reservoir near Munnar. Minister Roshi Augustine will receive the seaplane which will be flagged off by Tourism Minister P A Muhammad Riyas. A five-passenger seaplane has now arrived. It landed after flying around the lake thrice.

The collector and others came to receive the plane with chenda melam. Apart from tourism, it has also been decided to use seaplanes in emergencies. There are different types of seaplanes that can accommodate nine to 30 people. Tourists can enjoy the scenic beauty of Kochi backwater and Munnar on aerial tours. For this, a water aerodrome will be set up near the boat jetty at Mattupetti Dam. Bolgatty has an earlier established aerodrome.

A team comprising airport authority of India director, dam safety chief engineer, CIAL officials, electricity and forest department officials inspected the Mattupetti Dam and approved the project the other day. The idea is to form a seaplane tourism circuit connecting major water bodies like Malampuzha, Vemband Lake, , Ashtamudi Lake, Kasaragod Chandragiripuzhha, Kovalam etc. and various airports in Kerala.

Sea planes
Seaplanes are amphibious seaplanes that can take off and land in land and water. With large windows, one can enjoy the view. An added attraction is that the high cost of building and maintaining airstrips is avoided. It can fly continuously for nearly four hours at a speed of 290 km per hour.

Project of 11 years ago
On June 2, 2013, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurated the seaplane project at Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam. The first flight was scheduled for Alappuzha Punnamada Lake. At that time, the fare was fixed at Rs 4,000-5,000 for a half-hour journey. However, due to the protest of the fishermen, the seaplane that started from Kollam could not land in Alappuzha. With this, the project was abandoned.