Kerala solar ferry completes one year of operations, leaves behind a green model to emulate
Launched on January 12, 2017, the 75-seater ferry has been a people’s favourite and remains a testament to responsible green transport projects. (Express Photo)
For Aditya, the country’s first solar-powered ferry operating in the alluring waters of the Vembanad lagoon in Kerala, Friday marks an important milestone — it completes one year of successful operations without any major glitch. Launched on January 12, 2017, the 75-seater ferry has been a people’s favourite and remains a testament to responsible green transport projects.
Earlier this week, when the Indian Express took a ride in the ferry, it caught up with Ashwini, a student of B.Com who sat by the window in the last row of the solar ferry. She is a regular commuter on the ferry, which does a total of 22 trips between the jetties of Vaikom and Thavanakkadavu on opposite banks of the Vembanad. Commuters traveling to Cherthala, a major town in Alappuzha district from Vaikom take the ferries as they take less than half the time taken by buses. Aditya is one among four ferries on this stretch, the others being conventional diesel boats.
Credit: indianexpress.com