Panaji: With a long-term vision of reducing the carbon footprint, the River Navigation Department (RND) will soon introduce two modern ferryboats with higher capacity on one of the busiest Betim-Panaji route with focus on catering to the passenger traffic.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’, RND Minister Subhash Phal Dessai said, “The Betim-Panaji route is one of the busiest and almost 80% of the commuters on this route are foot passengers, while only 20% involve two-wheelers. There is very small number of four-wheelers that commute on this route. So we have decided to introduce modern ferryboats that function with double engine, are bigger in size and have a higher capacity.”
The assembling of these two ferryboats is currently going on at Vijay Marine Services and they are expected to be ready within three months’ time.
The ferryboats would be of almost double the capacity of the conventional ferryboats. Phal Dessai said the introduction of these two modern ferryboats will prove advantageous, as it will help the students who travel across the Mandovi River to proceed to schools in Panaji. “The introduction of the high-capacity ferryboats will decongest the city traffic during peak hours and reduce carbon footprint,” Phal Dessai said, adding that it would also lead to a reduction in the fuel usage.
These ferryboats are likely to serve as a better travel option for commuters from Betim, Verem, Porvorim and the surrounding areas. On an average, 10,000 passengers and nearly 5,000 two-wheelers commute on this route every day.
