OLD GOA
Residents of Divar will have to suffer for two more months as the River Navigation Department (RND) has suspended the Old Goa-Divar ferry route services from Monday.
A notice issued by authorities states that “due to repairs of the ferry ramp at Old Goa, ferry services at Old Goa route will be suspended from October 11 to December 11. During this period, three ferry boats will ply along the St Pedro-Divar route.”
On an earlier occasion, the Sao Pedro (Ribandar)-Divar ferry route was closed for three months from March to June and locals had to suffer as long queues of vehicles were witnessed along both sides of the Old Goa-Divar ferry route.
In another notice, the RND has informed that ferry services at the Dhauji route in Old Goa will be suspended for three months, from October 13 to January 12, 2022, due to repairs of the ferry ramp at Dhauji.
Speaking to The Goan, former panch Tulsidas Kundaikar said with the closure of one route, there is huge pressure on the other route and people have to wait for hours to cross to and from Divar island.
“Today, I had to wait for an hour to cross from Divar to the mainland and that time, only two ferries were operational,” said Kundaikar.
“One ferry witnessed a breakdown due to which it started drifting and luckily, no major incident occurred as the other ferry came to the rescue.”
“Four ferries should be operated along the Sao Pedro (Ribandar)-Divar route to clear the huge rush of commuters,” said Kundaikar.
Kundaikar also demanded that work on the ramp should be completed by November 20, before the commencement of the Old Goa Novena and Feast.
“During the Novena and Feast, there may a rush of people who want to attend Masses and the RND should ensure that the repair work is completed by November 20,” he added.
A local, Chillaya Sawant, said Divadkars will suffer a lot due to closure of one route.
“Those who are going to work in the industrial estates in Kundaim and other areas will be the worst affected as the Old Goa-Divar ferry route was shorter. Now, they will have go all the way round to Ribandar to get to Divar,” Sawant informed.
Further, Sawant questioned the logic of repairing the ramp now when the same could have been undertaken during the lockdown.
“Maybe, they are doing it as elections are round the corner so that they can show that they are doing something for the people,” Sawant alleged.
“Repair work should be finished as early as possible, and not extended as was the case of repairs at the Sao Pedro (Ribandar)-Divar route, where it took authorities four months instead of the scheduled three months.”
Traffic chaos at Ribandar ferry point: With the Old Goa-Divar ferry services suspended for two months from Monday, traffic chaos prevailed at the Sao Pedro (Ribandar) ferry point, with vehicles proceeding towards Divar queuing up along the main road.
When The Goan visited the area during peak hours in the evening, a long queue of vehicles waiting to board the ferry for Divar was seen along the main road, forcing motorists to use the wrong lane and resulting in traffic chaos.
However, no traffic police was posted at the site to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
A woman from the locality demanded that traffic police should be posted at the ferry point during peak hours.
