A boat trip down the Buckingham canal
Posted on: 01/Sep/2014 9:43:27 AM
Is it possible? Chennaites may be wondering that how this could happen. It is very soon going to happen. You can see boats on the 45-km stretch from Thiruvanmiyur to Kalpakkam, where the canal looks like its original self, which might see traffic and activity returning.
The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has been given a go-ahead by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) report along the South Buckingham Canal.
The plan is to make this stretch of the canal suitable for navigation of cargo vessels of maximum 300 tonnes and movement of tourist and passenger vessels of reasonable size as well as construction of three terminals for loading and unloading of cargo.
According to the plan, the canal needs dredging and banks have to be formed with excavated soil. It also requires dredging of sea mouths in Muttukadu and Kalpakkam and subsequent maintenance.
Terminals have to be constructed at suitable locations for cargo and passenger operation with necessary facilities including weigh bridges, truck parking and electrical sub-stations.
