Title - Fort Kochi, to be or not to be

The feasibility of including Fort Kochi in the second phase of Metro Rail project will be considered in the directorial board meeting of the Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to be held in October. According to KMRL officials, discussions on whether Fort Kochi was viable will be taken up when the board of directors meet for the  second time. “Fort Kochi had already been considered to be included in the second phase in the past. However, speculations had arisen that the project will be costly because a major part of the rail would have to go above water. Since  discussions need to be taken to the next level, this will be taken up at the board meeting,” said Collector Sheik Pareeth, who is also a director board member of the KMRL. He also said that if Fort Kochi becomes a part of Kochi Metro it would benefit the public in a large way since a major share of people of the city live in the West Kochi region. The tourism aspect was another reason, he said. Chief Secretary to the government K Jayakumar said that extension plans were an open subject which would be considered at the next meeting. “The feasibility study of the places which are part of the second phase of Metro Rail project will be discussed. Fort Kochi is also an area to be considered. Currently, we are focusing on the plans to extend the project to Nedumbassery and Kakkanad,” he said. Meanwhile, pushing for the need to consider Fort Kochi as an important point of the metro rail project, Dominic Presentation MLA will submit a draft to the Chief Minister on Tuesday. He had also held discussions with KMRL  managing director Elias George on the topic who has promised to take it up in the next directorial board meeting. However, Elias George was not available for comments.