Giving impetus to environmental friendly modes of transportation, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated inland ferry services in the port city of Vasco in Goa. The ferry services will be from Baina to Panaji and will reduce the duration of time travel to 20 minutes as compared to 1 hour, the Union Minister mentioned in a tweet. He also said that the inland ferry services will boost the tourism industry of the state by providing an eco friendly mode of transportation to passengers, tourists and also for movement of goods. The minister feels that with the help of waterways, the hotels and airports across the state can be linked together, therefore, Goa can ultimately become a ‘Cruise destination’, which shall create huge employment.
According to Gadkari, waterways are economical and ecological. “This mode of transport needs better utilization. The waterways will help passengers and tourists to save their money and time and will also help to reduce pollution as well as decongest heavy road traffic,” he said.
Nitin Gadkari said that environment and ecosystem must be given its due priority. He also said that all the stakeholders need to come up with a concerted decision and action in order to achieve this. According to him, India has around seven thousand five hundred km of seashore which can help in the development of the nation, while giving a boost to the tourism industry. Goa, which has emerged as a tourism state because of its coastal location, has a very high potential for investment and jobs generation.
The Union Minister, who heads Road Transport and Highways department along with Shipping and Water Resources department and the department of River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation said that so far, for the development of roads across Goa, the government has provided Rs 15,000 crore. He also assured that the state will get all the funds for the development of projects under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘Sagarmala’.