Staff Correspondent
Port Blair, June 5: Even as the Shipping Department routinely reiterates commitment to improve services in vessels, remote residents have alleged fresh instances of worry over abysmal conditions on board inter-island passenger vessels. A family that recently travelled to Havelock on speed boat, MV Rani Lakshmi, complained that the sanitary conditions on the vessel was totally amiss and the damaged seats in the vessel forced pregnant women and elders to travel standing for hours to Havelock.
“My journey to Havelock on MV Rani Laksmi was a horrible experience. The lavatory and wash basins meant for gents were clogged with polythene. Even female wash rooms were found to be stuffed with empty bottles and papers. Insanitary conditions prevailed during the entire journey, but not a single crew member was found attending to the needs of the passengers. As sanitary lines were choked and toilets were water logged, many passengers vomited on the floor itself during the journey. Some passengers even urinated from the entrance of the washroom due to the swamped lavatory,” reported an angry passenger.
To add to the woes, some passenger seats were missing while several others were damaged forcing passengers to stand for the entire two hour journey.
“Thing were totally in bad shape on board the passengers. The Shipping Department should mull over serious steps to provide atleast sanitary conditions on board inter-island vessels to prevent hardships to commuters,” said another passenger. MV Rani Lakshmi is just an example how badly speed boats are managed. Situation is so bad that out of 18 hardly 6 or seven speed boats are presently in operation.
