Elamkunnapuzha: Commuters faced agony, waiting for hours, to cross the backwaters after the Vypin–Fort Kochi Ro-Ro ferry service was once again restricted to a single vessel. The travel chaos unfolded on Monday morning when Sethusagar-2 was pulled from service for urgent repairs following a linear motor breakdown.

Passengers arriving at the Vypin jetty as early as 9:05 am were stranded until 10:25 am before they could finally board. With no way across in time, many office-goers bound for work by 10:00 am gave up in frustration and turned back. Meanwhile, vehicular queues stretched as far as the eye could see at both the Vypin and Fort Kochi terminals.

Such bottlenecks have become a recurring nightmare whenever one of the vessels breaks down. A third standby Ro-Ro had long been demanded to ensure seamless two-vessel operations, but even after a new vessel was finally built, its deployment remains stuck in limbo.

For over two months, the Kochi Municipal Corporation has attributed the delay in commissioning Sethusagar-3, inaugurated on July 12 by Chief Minister V D Satheesan, to pending Kerala Inland Vessel (KIV) registration.