Sri Vijaya Puram, Jan. 5: For the past one month, vehicular movement across the Middle Strait route has been severely affected due to the non-availability of adequate vehicle ferries, causing hardship to commuters, transporters, and tourists, especially during the peak holiday season of Durga Puja, Christmas, and New Year.
Earlier, two vehicle ferries were regularly operated between Middle Strait Jetty and Nilambur Jetty at Baratang to facilitate smooth movement of vehicles. However, the MV Kadamtala vehicle ferry developed technical problems and was sent for repairs, after which it has not returned to service. Similarly, the MV Lapathy, large vehicle ferry was also sent for repairs and has yet to resume operations on this crucial route.
The Zilla Parishad Member of Baratang Island, Mr. R. Alager Swami told Andaman Sheekha Daily that at present, only North Bay-based vehicle ferry and two small vehicle ferries—Austin IV, Austin V —are deployed on the route. However, the two small vehicle ferries together are unable to carry even 11 vehicles in one trip, whereas a large vehicle ferry like MV Lapathy could transport the same number of vehicles in a single crossing. Moreover, the small ferries are reported to be extremely slow, resulting in long waiting hours and traffic congestion.
The situation has caused serious inconvenience to tourists and the general public using the Andaman Trunk Road (NH4). In recent days, drivers were reportedly forced to sleep on the roadside due to prolonged delays in ferry crossings. Movement of essential supplies such as construction materials, groceries, eggs, and poultry, which largely depend on this route, has also been disrupted, as small ferries are unable to carry heavy and large vehicles on time.
With tourist inflow ranging from 1,000 to 1,200 visitors daily, many tourists are compelled to walk a distance of 1.5 to 2 kilometres at Middle Strait to reach to the Middle Strait Jetty due to the ferry bottleneck, while public vehicles remain stranded for hours.
In view of the worsening situation, Zilla Parishad Member of Baratang Island, Mr. R. Alager Swami has demanded the immediate deployment of the MV Lapathy vehicle ferry at Middle Strait. He has urged the Deputy Commissioner to intervene urgently, warning that if no action is taken, the affected public may be left with no option but to resort to agitation.
