PANAJI
Barely three months ago, around 100 passengers were stranded when a ferry boat from Panaji to Betim ran aground on the banks of the Mandovi River due to low water levels. The rescue operation stretched over six hours and while this was the situation at the ferry wharf where the infrastructure is said to be “adequate,” Goa has six other ferry ramps left in complete disrepair for more than six years.
The reason: Alleged neglect by the Public Works Department (PWD), which has repeatedly ignored urgent repair requests and reminders from the River Navigation Department (RND).
Several ferry ramps across routes including Keri-Tiracol, Tuem-Camurlim, Narva-Diwar, Old Goa-Piedade, Volvoi-Surla and Ribandar-Chorao are in urgent need of repairs, and this has also been admitted by Minister Subhash Phal Dessai.
However, sources revealed to The Goan that the PWD Division V has not resolved the long pending problem despite official requests for maintenance and a bunch of subsequent reminders.
“They don’t care. The condition of the ramps is unsafe and deteriorating,” said a senior RND official, adding that the RND has sent at least 25 reminders for each ramp during this period. “But no action has been taken. The PWD is least bothered,” the official added.
At Tuem-Camurlim, the poor state of the ramp recently forced the RND to halt ferry operations due to low water levels. Similarly, at Keri-Tiracol, the ramp on the Keri side has been washed away. “We have had to stop ferry services for several hours. All this causes inconvenience to passengers, more than the ferry operators. If the ramps were in proper condition, even low tides wouldn’t disrupt operations,” the official explained.
It was also revealed that with the PWD allegedly delaying or rather ignoring repair proposals, the government assigned the repair of one extension of the Ribandar ferry ramp to the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited for the operation of RoRo boats.
“The PWD hasn’t even prepared estimates for any of these ramps, let alone started the repair work,” the official source lamented.
Sources further stated the department was also considering appointing a retired engineer to ensure timely repairs but no progress has been made so far.
