Row-Pax ferry service from Bhaucha Dhakka to Mandwa to start soon
Mumbai, Mar 4/3/2020: Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today directed the PWD and Revenue department to speed up the widening 21-km Mandwa-Alibaug road work and remove the obstacles coming in its way at the earliest.
He was speaking at the meeting called in regard to Row -Pax ferry service between Bhaucha Dhakka and Mandwa. The meeting was held in Vidhan Bhavan.
The Chief Minister further underlined the need to increase basic facilities at Mandwa Jetty. The encroachment near the Jetty should be removed; parking has to be expanded; and make available facilities like washrooms and first aid. The Row-Pax ferry service between Bhaucha Dhakka and Mandwa should remain operative even in the rainy season, Thackeray said.
The meeting discussed in detail about starting the Row-Pax ferry service between Bhaucha Dhakka and Mandwa at the earliest and about the preparation of the system to operate this ferry service. The Mumbai Maritime Board made a presentation on Row-Pax ferry service.
It takes three hours to cover the 109 km distance between Bhaucha Dhakka in Mumbai and Mandwa by road. But, the Row-Pax ferry service can cover this distance only in 45 minutes via waterways. This will save the journey time and fuel and reduce the traffic congestion in Navi Mumbai, Panvel and surrounding areas besides encouraging tourism. The construction of jetty and terminal at Bhaucha Dhakka is done by the MumbaiPort Trust while Maharashtra Maritime Board has constructed the terminal at Mandwa Jett. The funds for this were provided by Sagarmala Scheme of the Central government and the state government in the 50-50 proportion.
The M2M ship has arrived in Mumbai for the Row-Pax ferry service. It has a capacity to carry 500 passengers and 180 vehicles.
The meeting was attended by Chairman Mumbai Port Trust Sanjay Bhatia, Principal Secretary of Transport and Ports Department Ashish Kumar Singh, Konkan Divisional Commissioner Shvajirao Daund, CEO of Maritime Board Ramaswami N, Special IGP of Konkan Division Niket Kaushik, Raigad Collector Smt. Nidhi Chaudhary and representatives of Esquire Shipping and Trading Company.
