On Oct 13, 2022, with much pomp, Goa’s first solar-electric-diesel hybrid passenger ferryboat (Chorao-Panaji-Chorao route) was commissioned but not operated. Why? Because there was no landing ramp at Chorao. Later, a floating platform was built, and services were to start from Jan 9, 2023. But for three months, the ferryboat costing Rs 4 crore was gathering dust because there was nobody to ply it. Is there a dearth of capable merchant navy captains in Goa to run the ferryboat?
Hence, in March 2023, it was proposed to lease it to a private party and generate some revenue. In mid-June 2024, the River Navigation Department gave reasons such as: the Mandovi River has high current and turbulence, vehicles cannot be onboarded, and the ferryboat is not for passengers (then for whom?). Again, it was suggested to lease the ferryboat for five years for tourism. Ponder over the chronology of events that indicates a lack of planning, which hints at handing over the costly ferryboat to a private party instead of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation. Would the above reasons disappear by leasing the ferryboat, especially the riverine conditions?
On July 17, 2025, several ministerial dignitaries of Goa inaugurated the first fully solar-electric-powered passenger vessel in Panaji. When this privately owned passenger vessel is capable of being operated, why not the government’s? It would be interesting to unravel the mystery of the whereabouts and present status (if sold, used, leased, idle, or scrapped) of Goa’s first hybrid ferryboat. Things start with a bang but end with a whimper.
