Kerala State Water Transport Department

Kerala State Water Transport Department

Company type	Separate government department in the state of kerala.
Industry	Public transport ferry service
Founded	1968
Headquarters	Alappuzha, Kerala , India
Area served	Kerala
Products	Passenger and Cargo Ferry
Services	Operates 81 boats
Divisions	13
Website	http://swtd.kerala.gov.in/

SWTD ferry on service in the Kerala Backwaters

Junkar Service Fort Cochin

SWTD ferry at Ashtamudi Lake, disembarking passengers

Kerala State Water Transport Department (SWTD) is a governmental department that regulates the inland navigation systems in the Indian state of Kerala and provides inland water transport facilities.^[1] The department is headed by the State Minister in charge of transportation.

This system consists of 1895 kilometers of waterways, including navigable rivers, backwaters, and man made cross canals. Most of these are in Travancore-Cochin region. Of the 44 rivers in Kerala, 41 of the westward flowing rivers combine with back waters and man made canals to form an integral part of inland navigation system.

A study conducted in 2011-2012 by CPPR on Inland Water Transport in Kochi shows that around 56 percent of the passengers expressed their dissatisfaction over the quality of ferry service.^[2]

External sources

Kerala Government Site

References

1. "State Water Transport Department, Government of Kerala, India - STATE WATER TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT". Archived from the original on 18 February 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
2. "More Than Half The Passengers Unhappy With Ferry Service". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 October 2017.