Even after a year of completion, Kochi Water Metro is still waiting for the inaugural function to start, which is inexcusable. The inconvenience and national loss caused by this are not small. Seven state-of-the-art electric boats, six terminals, and related systems costing crores are lying idle. An electric boat costs about seven and a half crores. The trial run was completed in March last year. 21 lakhs per month is being paid to 70 employees. But people are not getting any benefit from it.

It is a scheme with equal participation of the center and state. The Kochi Metro MD informed the state government months ago that it is ready for service. Awaiting the prime minister's convenience for a year, the inauguration is long overdue. Although the latest attempt is being made to inaugurate when the President arrives in Kochi, no approval has been received in this regard yet. If this Metro was in the private sector, they would have gone to court to get permission. But here no one cares because it is tax money spent by the people. Corruption is not just about taking bribes and stealing government money. Stopping the flow of money for a year like this should also be considered as corruption. The chief minister's office has to decide on the inauguration. If the Prime Minister is not available at the inaugural, other prominent Union Ministers can be considered. Or the Chief Minister himself can perform the inauguration with the permission of the Centre. Otherwise, the Chief Minister's office could have decided to hold the formal inauguration later and start the service. None of this has happened. This is what constructive opposition should point out. They also do not get time for it due to other busy schedules.

The Kollam bypass was opened even before the Prime Minister inaugurated it. The grandeur of the inauguration was not diminished because of that. That model can be followed in the case of Kochi Water Metro as well. It has been five months since the first service of Kochi Water Metro was scheduled on the High Court-Vypin route. The trial run on the Vyttila-Kakkanad route was completed last March. Vyttila, Kakkanad, High Court, Vypin and Bolgatti terminals are also ready. 743 crores of the project. At full capacity, it will cover a distance of 76 km. There will be 15 routes. 38 terminals. Since the service has not started, in order to avoid damage to the boats, six trial services are being run on High Court-Vypin and Vyttila-Kakkanad routes from 1 to 6 pm without taking any people. If this was carried out by transporting people for free, the people would have gotten at least that much benefit. This is the new digital world. The inauguration can also be done virtually by important persons. Anyway, a decision in this regard should come from the Chief Minister's office.