Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced the introduction of the Ro-Ro ferry service in the State while acknowledging that the highly publicized solar-powered ferry boat has yet to be put into service, even a year after it was introduced.
Both the government and opposition MLAs drew attention to the dire state of the ferry boats, highlighting their frequent failures, poor maintenance, low number of boats, and staffing shortages. The failure of the solar-powered ferry boat, which was launched almost a year ago and cost Rs 4 crore to buy, was questioned by the opposition.
In response to the cut motions that were forwarded to the River Navigation department, Sawant acknowledged that the shortage of technical staff prevented the solar ferry boat from being put into service. He also made a formal announcement about the launch of the Ro-Ro ferry service.
“We will initially introduce it on the heavy traffic routes like Panaji to Chodan and vice versa, and Mayem to Panaji,” he said.
Additionally, Sawant ordered the department to change the four-wheeler price, which is now merely Rs 10 per trip.
The Chief Minister stated that the government has launched a five-year project to digitize, scan, and preserve all archival records in relation to the Department of Archives and Archaeology. He claimed that because people would take, scan, or copy records from this department, land grab cases started to take shape.
Additionally, he disclosed the creation of a heritage strategy and the need to declare Chandor a heritage village and he promised to renovate and preserve all the monuments of the State’s liberation movement.
