It took the tragic death of 15 children and three teachers in the Thattekkad boat tragedy but now the office of the Chief Inspector of Boats is flooded with applications seeking fitness certificates.The office functioning at Civil Station, Kakkanad, here has received a spate of applications from across the state. Chief Inspector V K Viswakumar has his hands full, having received calls from different parts of Kerala to inspect boats.While documents with the office of the Chief Inspector show that nearly 1,000 boats in Kerala have fitness certificates, unofficial statistics show there are nearly 4,000 boats in Kerala.“Since the Thattekkad incident, we are very busy. With the state government announcing immediate confiscation of all boats operating without fitness certificates or licences, more applications are expected. The maximum number of applications have come from the Kumarakom region. Six applications have come from Kannur,” Viswakumar said. Tourism Promotion Councils of many districts have also approached the office seeking fitness certificates. The state government has announced that it will be revamping the organisational structure at the Chief Inspector of Boats office.Once the new government order is issued, Superintending Engineer of Mechanical Department will be appointed the Chief Inspector of Boats. Besides, the government will appoint Inspectors of Boats in Kochi, Malabar and Travancore zones, with assistants, to ease the work of the Chief Inspector. Meanwhile, an all-party meeting convened at St Antony's UP School in Elavoor on Sunday, decided to construct a memorial for the teachers and students who lost their lives in the Thattekkad boat tragedy.Meanwhile, classes at St Antony’s UP School resumed on Monday. Special prayers were offered for the children who died in the tragedy.
