‘Roro services connecting remote islands in Sunderbans in six months’

Kolkata: The state Transport department on Monday kickstarted infrastructure development work for commencing Roro (roll on roll off) services to connect a dozen islands in Sunderbans which are inaccessible by four-wheelers, including ambulances.

State Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty who visited the place to mark the beginning of work said that the state is committed to starting Roro services within six months.

Each of these 12 islands located in Gosaba, Pathapratima and other blocks are inhabited by 15,000 to 20,000 people.

However, they used to suffer a lot of hardship to communicate to the city in case of emergency as ambulances also could not travel to these islands. The only means of transport are motor boats and ferry services.

“We are constructing four jetties at ghats, namely Birat Bazar, Chandmari, Boro Shyamnagar and Kalibangal. The Roro services will be connecting these ghats. Roros are capable of transporting not only four-wheelers but even buses and trucks on them which will be a big stride in boosting connectivity of these remote islands, “ Chakraborty said

The state government will be spending Rs 35 crore for this project. A senior official of the Transport department said that the construction of bridges for connecting the islands involves huge investment and several permissions, including that of the Centre which is a very time-consuming process. The minister was accompanied by his department’s secretary Saumitra Mohan and other senior officials, including MLA Patharpratima Samir Jana.

The ghats will be equipped with facilities of washroom, a waiting room and food.

With the islands getting better connected, basic tourist facilities can also come up in and around these places which would encourage tourist flow. “The economy is expected to get a boost with the flow of tourists, “ the minister said.