Kochi: Seeking to reduce pollution in Kochi’s waters, Varapuzha panchayat has asked the state water transport department (SWTD) to replace its diesel operated boat with a solar or electric vessel.The agency operates a service in the Ernakulam-Varapuzha section in the morning and evening peak hours. The boat is mostly packed with locals, especially students.The panchayat letter was discussed in a recent SWTD meeting, especially since majority of the vessels plying in the scenic backwaters in Ernakulam rely on conventional, polluting fuel — diesel. While the agency operates eight vessels, including a rescue boat, Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation operates 17 vessels, including 10 barges and a luxury cruise liner. Of these, one is a solar-diesel hybrid boat –– Sooryamshu, while the rest are diesel boats. There are also around 350 private vessels for tourist and commercial purposes, majority diesel vessels.The agency, which introduced the country’s first solar passenger ferry, Aditya, on the Vaikom-Thavanakkadavu route in 2017, faces engineering challenges in Ernakulam. “The open estuary and river mouths experience higher wind speeds and stronger tidal forces than calm inland waterways of Vaikom and Alappuzha. Standard solar-electric designs lack the power to safely counter these maritime forces,” said a senior SWTD official.The meeting concluded that none of the solar vessels currently manufactured here can be deployed in Kochi waters. “Therefore, it is essential to bring in a few structural changes and build a new boat specifically for Kochi. This will be done soon and once ready, it will be deployed on an experimental basis here,” the official added.“A diesel boat emits around 140g of CO2 per passenger kilometre, whereas an electric ferry emits around 21.6g. Kochi Water Metro that runs a fleet of 20 electric vessels saved 2,736 tonnes of CO2 emissions last year,” said Kochi Water Metro chief operating officer Sajan P John. Experts had said the best option for non-polluting mobility is solar-electric hybrid water transport.Both govt and private operators prefer diesel vessels due to technical hurdles and the high cost of solar and hybrid vessels. But now with both the Union and state govts encouraging environment-friendly vessels, the shift is slowly happening. “We are planning to introduce four electric vessels in our fleet. Earlier, the cost of battery and other components were high but now it has come down. The construction of our first electric vessel will begin in three months,” said Nishijith K John, managing director, Neo Classic Cruises, that operates vessels from Marine Drive.