Srinivas Kamat
Just like the Panjim bus stand fire incident, we are now becoming wiser after the event as in the case of the Betim-Panjim ferry drifting and going aground a couple of days ago. The same kind of incident had taken place a number of times in the past on the same route as also across Goa particularly on the ferries plying on the Zuari river. After these incidents we have become none the wiser nor put in place procedures or investments that will avoid such incidents in future.
The same kind of promises as we had heard after the earlier incidents is what we are hearing again. There has been absolutely no action on the ground. Unique facilities like the river ferry service in Goa needs to be taken care of properly and measures taken to run it smoothly. Unfortunately this is not the case with the ferries maybe because they are free and with no revenue coming in, it is like nobody’s baby. So maybe we should think of a nominal charge of Rs 5 be put for each passenger apart from the charges that are now levied for the vehicles that use the ferry service. There could also be monthly and annual passes which will bring down the tariff for the commuters.
With money coming one would expect that the focus on proper maintenance of the service is put in place including safety of the commuters. Goa is a small place where managing things should be easier as long as the authorities take interest in their work. The particular Betim-Panjim ferry involved in the incident is reported to have hit a sandbar which brings to the fore the question is what are the River Navigation Dept. and the Captain of Ports doing? When was the last time they mapped the Mandovi and published data on the sandbars?
The Kolkata port on the river Hooghly similarly is prone to heavy silting and changing sand bar formations. The Calcutta Port Trust and the River Navigation Dept there maps the sand bars and puts out this information for the benefit of the river users on a daily basis. While here after the incident our Minister says that we will dredge the river now! This clearly shows a lack of focus on running a service that benefits the people. Lastly, the earlier ferry incident on the Mandovi had the ferry getting entangled in the anchoring ropes of the casino vessels. The same has again been reported in this incident and the CoP needs to take protective measures by removing the casino vessels 500 metres on either side of the ferry route across the river to avoid such problems in future. The best would be to have the casino vessels out of the Mandovi which the CM has promised by March 2018. Concluding, there are suggestions being made of a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge across the river to replace the Betim-Panjim ferry which may not be a sensible idea. The question apart from the safety and limited usage of the bridge and possible misuse of being used by two-wheelers, is how many structures do we want across the Mandovi?
A ropeway project is coming up nearby and as time goes by a regular bridge will be required at that location or a little further down because the 3rd Mandovi bridge will not be able to deal with the traffic to Panjim. In any case a pleasing and efficient river ferry service in Goa can be a big tourism earner is what our authorities should strive for in the years to come.
