Borivli-Gorai, Marve ferry services get major safety overhaul

Ferry services from Borivli to Gorai and Marve a daily lifeline for thousands of commuters and tourists received a major safety overhaul this month On October 10 the Maharashtra Maritime Board MMB rolled out new safety rules to ensure smoother and safer travel across the creekThe ferries which make about 66 trips a day had long faced the issue of overloading with over 20 vehicles and 40 passengers often crowding on each ride Following growing safety concerns the MMB has now placed strict caps on passenger and vehicle limits along with compulsory use of life jackets for everyone on boardLife jackets neatly arranged on the ferry for passengers PicsMadhulika Ram KavatturTo enforce these rules two security officers one at each jetty have been deployed to monitor operations and passenger compliancelsquoA lesson from tragedyrsquoMilind Surve port inspector MarveManori told midday that the new safety rules stem from the December 18 2024 ferry accident near Gateway of India which claimed multiple lives ldquoAfter the Gateway incident MMB began working on better safety enforcement Those lives might have been saved had passengers worn life jacketsrdquo Surve saidTejas Bhandari a daily ferry commuterSafety rules in actionSecurity officer Deepak Ramdas Bhabad stationed at Borivli jetty explained that ferry capacity now depends on size and passenger countldquoWe now allow only 1520 vehicles per trip depending on passenger load No ferry leaves the jetty unless all on board even those seated on bikes are wearing life jacketsrdquo he saidSecurity officer Deepak Ramdas BhabadSmaller ferries can carry up to 45 passengers including vehicles and are equipped with 48 adult and five childsized life jackets Larger ferries can carry 125 passengers with 100 adults and 10 child jacketsldquoThere is a shortage of jackets but wersquove reported it and itrsquoll be resolved soonrdquo Bhabad addedPassengers adaptingWhile many commuters initially resisted the new measures authorities believe the discomfort is temporaryldquoPeople are still adjusting Some ask for exceptions but safety comes firstrdquo Bhabad saidDharmendra Goswami firstclass IV master added ldquoOnce people get used to the rules everything will run smoother A bigger ferry is also being introduced soon which can carry hundreds morerdquoWhatrsquos nextSurve said the safety guidelines are currently on a trial basis ldquoAfter assessing loopholes wersquoll introduce appbased ticketing to make ferry travel easier and saferrdquo he saidHe likened the rules to traffic safety ldquoJust as wearing a helmet saves lives life jackets and preventing overloading will save passengers from tragedy People may take time to adjust but these rules exist to avoid accidents in the furture People will gradually understand itrdquoPassenger voicesTejas Bhandari a daily commuter said ldquoIt feels new and a bit strange We understand the importance of these safety measures but itrsquos also a little tedious since wersquove been used to the old way for so longrdquo Speaking about travelling with his twowheeler he added ldquoIn an emergency many people might still try to save their vehicles mdash even I might think of mine for a moment So I believe the best safety measure would be to ensure proper maintenance and regular checks of the ferry boats themselvesrdquoldquoThe new rules have made our commute much better mdash itrsquos fantastic now as security officers maintain discipline and ensure everyonersquos safety The only improvement needed is a proper queue for boarding and deboardingrdquo said Gorai local Prashan Khade On online ticketing he added ldquoIf the MMB introduces online tickets our travel will become much smoother We earlier had a monthly pass system that was discontinued but digital tickets would make the service as efficient as the MetrordquoOctober 10Day new rules were rolled out