PANJIM: Bowing to mounting political pressure, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that the notification on ferry fare hike for two-wheeler and four-wheelers will be withdrawn.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, Sawant said the decision has been taken to withdraw the notification at the earliest and accordingly the directions have been issued to the River Navigation Department (RND) to initiate the process.
“We have decided to withdraw the notification. The department has been asked to issue appropriate orders in this regard,” Sawant said.
However, sources said that the order of withdrawal of notification would most likely be issued on November 13 as there is a holiday on November 11 and 12. The notification was to come into effect from November 16.
Meanwhile, Mayem MLA Pramendra Shet said that work on Chodan to Salvador Do Mundo Bridge would start by next year. He said the land acquisition process was in the final stage and the entire land will be handed over to the government within the next two months.
The tender for the construction of the bridge will be floated soon after that, the MLA said.
After the government announced a hike in the ferry charges for two-wheelers and four wheelers, islanders and local residents in the State rallied against the proposed toll fees.
The agitation reached a peak as a demonstration took place at the Old Goa ferry ramp, with protesters demanding an immediate rollback of the new rates.
According to the revised tariff, two-wheelers were expected to pay Rs 10 per trip, with a monthly pass for unlimited trips set at Rs 150. In contrast, three-wheelers and four-wheelers were to be charged Rs 40 per trip, with a monthly pass amounting to Rs 600.
Alleging that opposition to the new fares was politically motivated, River Navigation Minister Subhash Phal Dessai had stated that the ferry charges have been hiked to generate revenue by plugging leakages. and provide improved ferry services to the people.
Phal Dessai had tried to convince the two party MLAs supporting people protesting against the hike as to how the new fares were justified. According to him, through the ferry service the State government was earning revenue of Rs 70 lakh but was incurring an expenditure of Rs 40 to 45 crore on the service.
