L’dweep-M’luru boat service resumes

Mangaluru: After a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lakshadweep-Mangaluru passenger vessel service has recommenced operations with the arrival of ‘Parali’, a high-speed craft, at the Old Mangaluru Port on Thursday. With 160 passengers on board, along with a pilot, ship engineer, an assistant, and eight labourers, the arrival of the vessel brings hope of reinstating this vital transportation link.The passengers were welcomed by Congress functionaries. The vessels that were sailing before the Covid-19 pandemic, took 13 hours to reach Mangaluru from Lakshadweep. However, the introduction of the high-speed craft, ‘Parali’, has reduced the travel time to approximately seven hours, said Abubakar Ashraf Bengre.
Bengre is part of a team that has been instrumental in liaising with the authorities of both Lakshadweep and Karnataka, to facilitate the revival of this service. He told reporters that the service would bring better economic activity to Mangaluru. Over recent months, discussions have been held with Hamdullah Sayeed, president, Lakshadweep Congress Committee, as well as Karnataka speaker UT Khader and district minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, to garner support for the reintroduction of the service.
The passengers who arrived mostly sought medical treatment, went shopping or met relatives here. They said that they travelled for Rs 450. Former MLA JR Lobo said that they will urge the government to ensure that the service is regular.
The passenger service was discontinued due to a lack of demand, according to sources. In 2018-19, 4,955 passengers embarked and 7,422 disembarked from the Old Mangaluru Port. Subsequently, the figures declined to 3,779 (embarked) and 2,294 (disembarked) in 2019-20. The numbers further plummeted to 561 (embarked) and 19 (disembarked) in 2020-21, leading to the suspension of the service.
At present, the administration of the Union territory of Lakshadweep has released a schedule for high-speed craft movement from April 29 to May 5.