Gujarat: Okha-Mandvi ferry service resumes, clocks 100 voyages

The service was formally discontinued on January 17, 2016, as DKFTPL ended its lease agreement with the Kochi-based firm which had leased the ferry boat and started scouting for new boat.

Named Kutch Sagar Setu, the ferry service was earlier scheduled for December 21, 2015 launch.

AROUND A YEAR after its maiden voyage remained unsuccessful, the ferry service between Okha and Mandvi ports has finally begun, with the boat making its 101st trip on Thursday and operators claiming that around 5,000 persons have already used the service over the last two months.

Named Kutch Sagar Setu, the ferry service was earlier scheduled for December 21, 2015 launch. But for want of relevant clearances, it could attempt its maiden voyage only on January 8 last year. That voyage from the Okha port in Devbhoomi Dwarka district to Mandvi port in Kutch district remained incomplete as the boat had to return to Okha port from mid-sea since there was low tide at Mandvi at the time it was scheduled to berth there. While Dwarka Kutch Ferries and Tourism Private Limited (DKFTPL), the Vadodara-headquartered private firm did make successful trial runs, the service couldn’t take off due to technical issues.

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The service was formally discontinued on January 17, 2016, as DKFTPL ended its lease agreement with the Kochi-based firm which had leased the ferry boat and started scouting for new boat. Finally, the company entered into a joint venture with Pratistha Marine Services Pvt Limited, of Navi Mumbai. As part of the joint venture agreement, the Mumbai company will get a share in the profit for offering its boat to DKFTPL.

The new ferry boat, named Mahi, has the designed capacity to accommodate 129 passengers on board. But DKFTPL has got clearances to ferry only 90 passengers per trip, along with its seven crew members. The company began trial runs again on December 12 last year and started commercial operations from December 16 onward. On Thursday, the ferry made its 101st voyage from Okha to Mandvi.

“The ferry boat has made at least one trip from Okha to Mandvi per day since December 16 and we have ferried around 5,000 passengers so far,” Rajesh Doshi, one of the promoters of DKFTPL, told The Indian Express on Thursday.

Kutch Sagar Setu is the first ferry service between Okha and Mandvi in around 60 years. Around six decades ago, country craft used to ply between two ports, but the service was discontinued later on. Mandvi, a tourist destination with sandy beach, is just 24 nautical miles off Okha, which is just 30 km away from the famous Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka town. But the road distance between the two tourist spots is around 500 kilometres. Doshi said that the ferry takes around three hours and 15 minutes to reach Mandvi from Okha. A road trip takes around 10 hours.

First uploaded on: 03-02-2017 at 00:25 IST

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