Mid-Day finds no life jackets given to passengers on short ferry routes

While 13 lives were lost in the ferry tragedy on Wednesday evening business on Mumbais west coast continued as usual on Thursday midday visited the VersovaMadh Aksa beach jettyManori jetty and GoraiBorivli ferry routes to evaluate safety protocols We learnt that while the boats were not carrying passengers beyond their capacity none of the operators provided life jackets to passengers even though the devices were available on board Thursday being a working day it was observed that the number of passengers including local residents taking the ferry was lower than usual compared to the weekendVersova to Madh jettyAround 12 pm we took a ferry from Versova to Madh Island The ticket we received mentioned that passenger services on this short route were operated by the Versova Macchimar Sahakari Society Limited a contractor appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMCA ferry boat travelling from Marve to ManoriDuring our five to sevenminute ride we observed that the ferry operator was ensuring adherence to passenger capacity rules and the crowding was minimal Approximately 5055 passengers and 1012 bikes were allowed on board However we noticed although there were around 5060 life jackets stored on the ferry for emergencies none were distributed for useAksa beach to Manori jettyThis ferry appeared to be in better condition and the number of passengers was also higher Around 70 passengers were travelling on the boat operated by the ManoriKoli Gramastha Mandal Staff were present on board but once again no life jackets were provided to the passengers for the five to eightminute journey Upon inspection we saw around 70 life jackets stored on the boat some of which seemed unused and still in their packagingGorai to Borivli jettyThe ferry was operated by the Gorai Macchimar Sahakari Sanstha Limited The boat was similar in size to the one used on the VersovaMadh Island route allowing around seven to eight bikes and several passengers Here too we noticed that despite having 4050 life jackets on board none were distributed to passengers during the rideDespite the ferry boats having plenty of life jackets none were in useFerry operationsIn Mumbai there are 285 licensed passenger ferry boats of varying capacities with around 200 operating on 31 routes These routes include Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust Mandwa Elephanta Gateway of India Ferry Wharf Versova Manori Madh Island and Gorai among othersDuring our visit we observed that the boats on the VersovaMadh Island and GoraiBorivli routes appeared old though they displayed certificates from the Maharashtra Maritime Board MMB In contrast the ferry we took from Marve Beach jetty to Manori jetty was a large and modern vesselMaritime Board SpeaksCaptain Praveen S Khara chief ports officer of the Maharashtra Maritime Board said ldquoFollowing the unfortunate incident on Wednesday we are ensuring that passengers travelling on longdistance ferries wear safety jackets We will also raise awareness about this issuerdquo When informed that passengers on short routes like Versova Manori and Gorai do not wear safety jackets Khara said ldquoWe conduct regular surprise inspections to ensure ferry operators comply with safety normsWearing safety jackets is essential for passengers safety and comes under the lsquoSafety of Life at Searsquo regulations However on short routes like VersovaMadh Island many passengers choose not to wear them despite awareness efforts by the ferry operators and the MMB The rule mandates that life jackets should be available on board for emergencies but does not require passengers to wear them In light of the recent tragedy we urge passengers to wear safety jackets during their journey as it could save lives in emergenciesrdquo