Commuters irate as lone Panaji-Betim ferry suspended for over an hour

PANAJI: The lone vessel operating on the Panaji-Betim ferry route was suspended on Tuesday from 2.30pm to 3.45pm owing to a mechanical glitch, causing inconvenience to commuters.
Sources from the river navigation department (RND) said that the ferry boat, Marmagoa, was stopped for about one and a half hours as the vessel’s hand-winch was not operating efficiently.
“This was a minor defect, not an engine problem. The problem was sorted and the vessel was sent back on route,” they said.
RND officials informed that they deliberately chose the afternoon slot to fix the glitch since it was not a peak hour.
“We could’ve continued with the faulty winch for the next ten days, but we decided to repair it once and for all and send the vessel immediately. Since it was not peak hour, we ensured that the issue was resolved after schoolchildren were done using the ferry for the day,” an RND official said.
Despite this, a few commuters faced difficulty. The problem was, however, resolved before to the next peak hour, that is 4.30pm.
“We have enough ferry boats, but manpower to operate them is not there. We are in the process of hiring new staff, however. Once the new staff is recruited, we will be able to operate more ferries on this route,” the official said.
Sources from the RND also informed that the lone ferry has been operating on the route due to acute shortage of sailors and coxswains. The files were pending clearance all this while.
After clearance, the process of recruiting recently commenced. The swimming test has already been held and 372 candidates have been selected. A written test of those shortlisted will be conducted at the Goa Engineering College (GEC), Farmagudi, on February 5.
“Letters have already been sent to the candidates to appear for the written test. There are approximately 45 positions that are expected to be filled up,” he said.