10 March,2016 11:12 AM IST | | Shashank Rao
BMC had asked the BEST if it was possible for it to run waterways passenger transport; It has said if given money for the infrastructure, it will look at implementing it
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking may be in the doldrums regarding running the buses, but is keen on operating transport services on waterways, if provided funds to set up the infrastructure for it by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This comes at a time when the Comprehensive Mobility Plan was recently released by the BMC.
The issue came up some time back when the civic authority was studying the transport condition of the city. According to the civic body, the rail and roads of Mumbai have got congested. Everyday 80 lakh people travel via local trains on both Central and Western lines that are connected to Navi Mumbai and the extended metropolitan region of Mumbai.
With over 25 lakh vehicles on road, the traffic has also messed up the public and private modes of transport in the city. Under such circumstances, the BMC had asked the BEST Undertaking, if there is a possibility of operating water transport in Mumbai on both its western and central routes.
Sources said that the plan is to mainly connect Mumbai suburbs with the tip of the island city. "Few starting and terminating points on the western suburbs were identified. The plan needs to be studied first," said a BEST official. These could be mainly Marve-Manori, Gorai jetty, Madh Island or Versova and/or corresponding locations where boats can halt.
The boat services can terminate at Nariman Point or Gateway of India depending on the feasibility. Officials claimed that BEST being the transport wing for the corporation, they should at least see its possibility. But the Undertaking has said that at present they do not have any infrastructure or funds to operate waterways. But if they can get money for setting up the necessary infrastructure, then they will look at its implementation positively.
