Late last week, Union Minister for Ports and Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal announced that, following a request from the state government, the Union government was moving the Goa Water Metro Project to Phase I for implementation on priority. The announcement was met with loud applause at the function in anticipation that Goa would have a water metro project on the lines of Kochi sooner than expected. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has already conducted a feasibility study along several routes in the state and is expected to prepare a detailed project report over the coming months.
However, there is plenty to be skeptical about. For one, Goa has seen several attempts in the past to introduce water connectivity between towns and cities, especially connecting the state capital. There were attempts to launch services connecting Vasco to Dona Paula and Panaji. Similarly, there was a proposal to launch a water service between Sanvordem/Curchorem and Panaji, Aldona, and other destinations, with stops along the way. However, these projects failed to materialise, and in cases where they did come to fruition, they were quickly wound up for being unviable.
And what many fail to realise is that a primary reason for these efforts to have failed in the past is the lack of last-mile connectivity between the jetty and where the commuters actually need to be. The absence of last-mile connectivity has been the bane of not just Goa’s previous water connectivity efforts, but is also said to be the primary cause of low ridership in several metro mass transit systems in cities like Pune, Bengaluru, and others across the country. And yet it is the elephant in the room that most planners consistently ignore.
Take for example, the Vasco-Dona Paula ferry service that was mooted as an efficient way to travel between Goa’s two biggest cities. The service failed primarily on account of the absence of quick and efficient connectivity between Dona Paula and the central business areas of Panaji on one side, and connectivity between MPT and Vasco and its suburbs on the Vasco side. Similarly, an effort to start a launch service between a jetty at Baina and north Goa to help those from Vasco, Dabolim, etc., directly sail towards Calangute-Candolim suffered from similar deficiencies.
If those planning the Goa Water Metro make the same mistake, the results are expected to be broadly similar. No one will ditch their own private vehicle and choose public transport if the cost and time consumed to simply get to the metro terminal is going to exceed what it currently takes them for their entire journey from home to work or wherever else they are headed. If planned properly people will build their lives around the metro, but if the metro is hijacked by planners who pay no attention to what commuters actually need, then its fate will be no different than that of its failed predecessors.
To date, the government has yet to spell out its plans for the metro project and whether or not it will include plans for last-mile connectivity. Short of a proper plan to connect where people are and where they want to be, the water project is simply going to reduce itself to being a white elephant that will only end up serving those who want to go on joyrides.
The people of Goa deserve not just answers but also a key part in the planning process, rather than simply a top-down planning process where those at the top say they know what those at the bottom want, without actually knowing what they are talking about.
