Govt mulls over floating jetty at Chorao or Betim

Panaji: The river navigation department (RND) has outlined plans to install a 12-meter long floating jetty at Chorao which will be utilised to moor ferryboats that are kept on standby for the Chorao - Ribandar route.Once installed, it will be the second floating jetty that will come up at the site. In 2024, the department had constructed a 12m floating jetty-cum-pontoon worth Rs 96.6 lakh at Chorao.“The jetty will be used for standby docking of ferry boats at night. We want to keep at least two ferryboats on standby on the Chorao side. Right now, one ferry boat is kept on standby at Ribandar which is not helpful. We want to have two to three ferry boats on standby at Chorao,” said department director Vikramsinh Rajebhosale.

The floating jetty will have a marine-grade aluminium gangway for access from the shore wall to the floating jetty.The department is also ready to deploy two larger ferry boats on the Panaji-Betim route, Rajebhosale said. “These are not like the conventional ferry boats. They are faster, bigger and undergoing trials,” said Rajebhosale.