Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be launching ‘Ropax’ ferry services in Gujarat on November 8. The all-weather, technologically advanced ‘Ropax’ ferry service will cut down the road distance between Ghogha and Hazira from 370 kilometre to 60 kilometre through sea route. The Ropax services will be flagged off by PM Modi at 11 am on November 8, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
Here is all you need to know about Ghogha-Hazira ‘Ropax’ ferry service in Gujarat
1. The ‘Ropax’ ferry service is set to commence between Surat’s Hazira and Bhavnagar’s Ghogha. With this, two prominent regions of Gujarat Saurashtra and south Gujarat will also be connected.
2. Presently, the road distance between Ghogha in Bhavnagar and Hazira in Surat is 370 kilometre. Once the ‘Ropax’ ferry service begins, this distance will be reduced to only 60-km through sea route.
3. Apart from the distance, the time taken due to transport will also be decreased from present 10 to 12 hours to 3 to 4 hours thanks to the ‘Ropax’ ferry service.
4. Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Ropax ferry vehicle has the capacity to carry up to 550 passengers.
5. Apart from passengers, it can carry vehicles. As many 30 trucks, 100 two-wheelers, and seven smaller trucks can be carried in one trip, the Union Minister said.
6. The ‘Ropax’ ferry service will be an all-weather service that can operate all 12 months without requiring to be dependent on the weather conditions and high tide, Mandaviya said.
7. The Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that all preparations have been completed and the terminal has been built at Hazira. While the service will be beginning on November 8, the booking of tickets is beginning on November 2.
8. This Ropax service is taking place after a Ro-Ro (roll on-roll off) ferry service between Ghogha and Dahej in Bharuch district, was suspended due to siltation and unavailability of the adequate draft to carry the vessel in 2019. This Ro-Ro service was launched by PM Modi in October 2017.
9. On November 8, PM Modi will also launch Ropax services in Kerala’s Kochi, one joining the North East to Kolkata and one on the Brahmaputra river in Assam. Apart from these, a service will also begin connecting Karimganj in Assam over the Barak river to Bangladesh.
10. The central government has studied and mapped the potential of destinations across the 7,500-km of the country’s seacoast, Mandaviya said adding that similar ropax service will be started on several destinations.