ROARING PLAN | State government’s RoRo connectivity project can bring down commuting time, pollution, road accidents and fuel usage
A trip from Marve to Manori via road requires covering 37.4 kms. If the state government’s move to revive passenger water transport goes as per plan, this could come down to as low as 0.5 km. And this is just one of the 14 links shortlisted under the RoRo (roll-on, roll-off) inland water transport project, utilising the potential of state's 720-km long coastline.
The Maharashtra RoRo connectivity project can bring down commuting time, pollution, road accidents, fuel usage.. One can well bid bye to crowded trains and congested roads and roll-on roll-off with your vehicles onto vessels like ferries and catamarans.
“We have identified locations on the coast where there are creeks but no bridges,” Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) CEO Asheesh Sharma told dna, adding this lack of connectivity forced people to take a round-about route, leading to loss of time and fuel.
“RoRo facilities will enable them to cross over easily… we will start RoRo projects at all possible locations so that people do not have to take detours,” said Sharma, adding they had appointed consultants who are in the process of working out details and cost estimates.
“The distance from Ferry Wharf to Dharamtar will see the distance being cut down from 85 km to 25.2 km. Borivali to Gorai will shrink from the present 26 kms to 0.5 kms," noted Sharma. He added that the Ferry Wharf to Mandwa route, which is among the nodes being considered, is part of the larger and long-pending water transport project on the eastern coast which will also connect Ferry Wharf to Nerul.
Apart from reducing travel time, these logistically viable services will also reduce pollution and congestion on roads like the busy Mumbai-Goa highway.
Some other routes on which RoRo services are being considered include Rewas-Karanja and Dighi-Agardanda. In addition, locations in Palghar and Thane districts are also being looked at for the project.
Sharma said RoRo services were already operational at coastal locations like Jaigad, Dabhol and Bankot, adding the state government is also working on a new policy for cargo, ports and shipyards.
Though Maharashtra has a 720-km coastline and two major ports – the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) – the potential for passenger water transport and RoRo projects has not been exploited to the optimum despite the benefits involved. For instance, according to the Economic Survey of Maharashtra-2015, the passenger traffic handled by the MbPT fell from 5.61 lakh in 2012-13 to 2.96 lakh, a 47.2% decline.
The non-major ports too saw a fall in passenger traffic handled by both, mechanised and non-mechanised vehicles in 2013-14 as compared to the previous fiscal.
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