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Gujarat CM Rupani launches Ghogha-Dahej Ro-Pax service, promises Surat link by December

In the inaugural ride, two empty luxury buses were part of the convoy of eight-odd heavy vehicles that were allowed to board on the lowest deck of the ferry. The second deck is meant for private cars, and the third for passengers.

Gujarat CM Rupani launches Ghogha-Dahej Ro-Pax service, promises Surat link by December Vehicles enter the ferry to make the two-hour journey from Gogha to Dahej (Javed Raja)

BJP functionaries, shipping agents, ship recyclers from Alang and representatives from other industrial sectors were among the first passengers who accompanied Chief Minister Vijay Rupani for the maiden voyage of a new Ro-Pax ferry that carried passengers and vehicles across the Gulf of Khambhat between Ghogha (Bhavnagar district) and Dahej (Bharuch district) on Saturday.

While addressing a public gathering near Gogha terminal before undertaking the journey, the Chief Minster said that he would launch a similar ferry service between Ghogha and Surat by December.  “Currently, the service is till Dahej. This is cumbersome for people who want to visit Surat which is about three hours away from Dahej. So, we have requested the CM to extend the service till Hazira (which is about 30 minutes drive from Surat),” Harsh Patel, president of Sihor Steel Re-rolling Mills Association, travelling onboard the Ro-Pax ferry said.

During its inaugural run, the vessel — Voyage Symphony —left Gogha terminal at 3 pm and reached Dahej around 5 pm — a distance of 17 nautical miles covered in nearly 2 hours. The ferry is expected to run alongside the passenger ferry — Island Jade — that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2017 to cut down the tedious eight hour journey between the two locations.

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In the inaugural ride, two empty luxury buses were part of the convoy of eight-odd heavy vehicles that were allowed to board on the lowest deck of the ferry. The second deck is meant for private cars, and the third for passengers.

Gujarat CM Rupani launches Ghogha-Dahej Ro-Pax service, promises Surat link by December An aerial view of the launch of the Ro-Pax ferry on Saturday

“This ferry service will open the gates of Saurashtra region to industrial development. There are a lot of industrialists from Saurashtra who have diamond and textile and other businesses in south Gujarat. This service will not only help the industrialists and employees get easy connect to their native villages in Saurashtra, but it will also provide them with an option to use the cheaper land in Saurashtra for expansion of their business,” said Girish Shah, former BJP president and the incumbent chairman of Alang Area Development Authority, which is responsible for development of infrastructure in a 131 square kilometre area that includes eight villages of Ghogha.

Festive offer

Chetan Contractor, the CMD of Indigo Seaways Ltd, which is operating the Ro-Pax service, said, “We are targeting to attract more truck and bus operators to this vessel that was built as a passenger vessel in South Korea in 2015, but we got it re-fitted and re-modelled as a Ro-Pax vessel in China.”

According to him, nearly 12,000 people travel daily between Saurashtra and south Gujarat, and over 5,000 vehicles ply between these two regions. Also on board the vessel, alongside CM Rupani, was state BJP president Jitu Vaghani.
“We have come despite the Ekta Yatra (taken out to popularise the Statue of Unity project) being organised in our area. About 10-15 per cent of the passengers today onboard this ship are BJP functionaries,” said Rajesh Parmar, head of the BJP’s OBC wing based at Botad.

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Twenty-eight-year-old travel agent from Bhavnagar, Amish Shah, said that he was part of a 14-member team of shipping agents who have been offered a free ride on the Ro-Pax ferry so that they could get a first-hand experience of the travel and later help popularise the service. “I got an invite just two days ago and I didn’t want to miss meeting the chief minister on board,” said Shah.

Similarly, a ship-breaker from Alang ship-breaking yard, Amit Padia said that he and two other ship-breakers from Alang had undertaken the journey on the invite of local BJP leaders. “We wanted to be part of the history being scripted in the region,” he said.

Bhagwan Dholakia, cousin brother of diamond baron Savji Dholakia, said he and 14 members of his family will undertake the sea journey on the new ferry on Monday. “We are here to attend a spiritual programme. We will be returning by this ferry on Monday,” said Dholakia, a resident of Lathi in Amerli district.

First uploaded on: 28-10-2018 at 09:10 IST
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