Floating mall coming to Ashtamudi backwaters

For those who stay on the banks of Kallada River and Ashtamudi lake, a new Floating Triveni Store will be opened on 20th June 2011 by State Cooperative Minister Mr.C N Balakrishnan. The Floating Triveni Supermarket, introduced in 2009 June 7, is the first of its kind in the World. The floating supermarket coming in Kollam is the 3rd of its kind, the other 2 being introduced in Kuttanad. This is a unique venture and let us hope that Consumerfed will soon start many such floating malls in Kerala.

The inauguration function will be held at the shore near KEL, Kundara.

The mall was designed by the University of Cochin’s naval department. The 1000 sq.feet boat was built at a dock in Kochi at a cost of Rs.50 lakh. The ultra modern “Fibre Steel Laminated Ferro Cement” technology is used to built this boat. Cement was mixed with certain polymers and reinforced with steel to build the boat, which is anti—corrosive. A solar panel was added to light the boat and power the billing machine. The boat is facilitated with Internet facility also to control the prices of commodities from Head office and Regional offices of Consumer Fed.

The floating Triveni Super Store, which sells everything a home needs including refrigerators and TV sets at subsidised rates, is the brainchild of Ex. State Cooperative Minister G. Sudhakaran” . Kerala’s tourism department is very happy with the Consumerfed initiative as it catches the attention of tourists visiting the backwaters of Kerala, an area that ranks above the Taj Mahal in National Geographic Traveller’s best destinations of the world.

“Ever since the launch of the floating mall in June last year, it has become a tourist attraction,” says M. Shivshankar, director, Kerala Tourism.

The boat is lined with shelves full of grain to perfumes and health drinks to shampoos. The villages on the banks of river/lake cannot access the mainland except through boats. A Triveni store official said the timings of the boat’s arrival in each village is announced beforehand, and villagers look forward to it.

Well-stocked interiors of Floating Triveni

The mall is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For safety reasons, only 20 people are allowed on board at a time.

“Ours is a supermarket,” says Reji R. Nair, managing director of Consumerfed, which was chosen the best cooperative in the state last year. “For the villagers, there is a lot of excitement to step into the boat which has everything for their needs under one roof”. Provisions like rice, wheat and sugar are priced at least 10-15 percent below market rates. The prices of commodities inside the floating supermarket will be exactly the same as the prices in all other Triveni Supermarkets. “The villagers can buy even refrigerators and TV sets from the floating mall. For that one has to just place an order and it will be delivered at your doorstep within two-three weeks,” says A.K. Anoop, the mall’s manager. “The mall at Kuttanad has average daily sales of Rs.60,000,” he said. The sales go up during festivals like Onam and Christmas.

The Kerala State Cooperative Consumers Federation Ltd (Consumerfed), the apex body of consumer cooperatives, which owns the Rs 50-lakh mall, sells at less than market prices. The Floating Triveni offers an additional discount of two per cent to promote sales. Scheduled castes and tribal customers can avail of a further three per cent discount.

Consumerfed hit on the concept from the slender canoes ferrying men and materials along the labyrinthine backwaters and canals. Perhaps Triveni’s only limitation is its size – 16 metre long and six metre wide - which may make it difficult to navigate through some of the smaller channels. Says Riji R. Nair, MD, Consumerfed. “Initially, when this idea was floated, there was some scepticism. But we were ready to experiment and told the ship-builder that if he could build a platform that could float and remain intact, we would go for it. That’s how the mall was born.”

Meanwhile, considering the novelty of the backwater-cruising & island-hopping supermarket, Consumerfed has written to the Guinness Book of World Records, seeking its imprimatur that would float Triveni before the world’s eyes.

Coutesy: SkyScrapperCity

Bookmark & Share