of the Department, who reports to the Ministry of Transport in the state. During formation, the service operation was only in the Districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam & Kollam with the headquarters in Alappuzha as its nerve centre of all the functions and activities. Later the functions and activities were decentralised by establishing an office for the Mechanical Engineer and three Regional Offices in the Districts of Ernakulam, Kottayam (Changanassery) and Kasargode, headed by three Senior Superintendents. Now the Department has thirteen Stations Offices as given below. Alappuzha Kottayam Kollam Edathua Pulinkunnu Nedumudy Muhamma Vaikom Panavally Thrikkarippur Changanassery Kavalam Ernakulam The Controlling Officers of these Stations are Station Masters. The service operation of boats are under the immediate control of the Station Masters of these stations. The function of the Department are trifurcated into three wings Management - Under the control of Administrative Assistant Operation - Under the Traffic Superintendent Repair & Maintenance -Under the Mechanical Engineer Fleet The department operates about 85 ferries all across Kerala. Earlier the Department was using only conventional type wooden (well seasoned teak wood) passenger boats for transporting passengers. Now the department has switched over to the use of modern fibreglass/steel passenger boats. It owns and operates the first and the only solar ferry in India, ADITYA, a 75-passenger boat, in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu sector. Boat Capacity - 50 to 150 passengers (wooden boats) Speed of operation - 10 to 15 km per hour Boat Size- Length: 20 to 35 m, Width: 3 to 4.5 m, Depth: 2 m Empty Weight - 5 to 15 tonnes Crew per boat - 5 max. Schedule Please visit Official site of Kerala State Water Transport Department for detailed schedule, route, fare and other queries. Tourism Initiative Realising the tourism potential of Kerala, the department is attempting to garner worldwide attention, mainly of tourists. The new website (swtd.gov.in)offer details of the service trips, which are fast becoming popular among tourists as one of the most affordable modes to enjoy the beauty of the scenic Kerala backwaters. The website is expected to help tourists in a major way and thus, make the department more popular among them. It has interesting links, one of which is "" giving details of every trip of the department, with the starting time. A brief description of the sights one can behold en route has been provided. For instance, the 29-km Alappuzha-Edathua trip, which costs a