Ferrytale -III

Fairy Tale of Ferries

Twenty-eight rivers to be crossed in Goa, but only 23 ferries available to you – an inexplicable shortfall of five. And, did it cross your mind that if the government takes Mauvin Godinho pitching for one Ravindra Bhavan per taluka seriously, you will end up with more Ravindra Bhavans than your much-needed neighbourhood ferry. Consider, as I said last week, this: ferry Rai – bottom plates require replacement; ferry Divar – bottom plates require replacement; ferry Diu –bottom/hull is weak and its doublers have been welded together; and ferry Sanguem – deck plates completely perforated. Plus, the fact these urgently needed repairs must be scheduled in the next 4-6 months. You are never ever going to get a ferry service that deserves to be called a ferry service. The logic: your government does not understand the simple principle behind the supply and demand theory. Mildly put, this is a logistics problem poor sods like you and me will have to navigate all alone. To put it entirely in a new perspective, this government seems determined to juggle around with whatever its existing (on that day) fleet of ferries is. It does not matter to it how many more ferries get laid up for repairs.

Vasco da Gama and his sailors had an easier passage to India

Look at the risks you run:

Ferries waiting their turn to be repaired at the marine workshop, Betim

Cumbarjua – Major repairs being carried out.
Quepem – Awaiting major repairs since February 2006. Repairs to be carried out by third party.
Chandor – Awaiting major repairs since February 2007. Repairs to be carried out by third party.
Canacona – Awaiting major repairs since October 2007 – Bottom perforated. Major repairs to be carried out immediately.
Zuari – Awaiting major repairs since August 2008. Bottom perforated. Major repairs to be carried out immediately.
Harvalem –Awaiting major repairs since August 2008. Bottom plate perforated. Major repairs to be carried out immediately.
Zorint – Major repairs being carried out since September 2008.
Dudhsagar – Awaiting major repairs since July 2008. Repairs to be carried out by third party.
Betul – Awaiting major repairs since September 2008. Has weak bottom. Kept at workshop since October 25, 2008.

The notations on the seaworthiness or delay in even bothering to repair the ferries are not mine. They are the comments of the River Navigation Department and speak volumes on how much your montris care for you. Imagine, in the midst of the mother of all recessions, and in the aftermath of which India's most gung ho SEZ players are themselves acting to get their mega plans denotified (see Herald Biz December 11), the Goa Industrial Development Corporation intends to construct an industrial estate at Carambolim on 2.82 lakh sq mts.

Not Seaworthy

That the ferries in Goa are single-bottomed unlike barges and other ships which have double–bottoms, is a worse concern. In a built-to-specifications vessel the two steel bottoms encase a series of tanks, because if a barge or ship springs a major leak, the leakage in the vessel is controlled or staggered. This is a very basic explanation to how these vessels are specifically designed for such an eventuality, but says enough for the lay person. If a ferry springs a major leak, sea water will fill the vessel in a rush and simply inundate it till it sinks like a stone in water. The panic passengers will cause as a result, and the unevenly distributed weight of the vehicles in the ferry will only hasten the sinking of a ferry. This is the cold as steel reality.

For a State that has easily the worst public transport system in India and possibly in Asia (only Bangladesh could arguably rival Goa) the river transport is no better. If you have not had the courage to look at the rusted bottom and sides of the ferry you use to cross over daily, drum up the courage and take a hard look at the facts. The harder facts are there is just no money to be made in building new ferries for you, like there is in building Ravindra Bhavans, six-lane highways, sports stadia, industrial estates, SEZs etc etc. The only money that can be made on Goa's rivers; is in building barges. You will be as stunned as if a Tsunami hit you if I tell you how many of your montris own barges. Don't get too anxious for the moment about who owns those SUVs that crawl the Mandovi and Zuari taking away our wealth and gifting it to China, there is time for that.

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