Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that efforts are being made to make the maritime sector of the country an important part of self-reliant India. Another big step is being taken to promote these efforts of the government. It will be renamed as Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Ministry, expanding the scope of the Ministry of Shipping. In developed countries, the Ministry of Shipping looks after the port and the waterway. But in India, the Ministry of Shipping does most of the work related to ports and waterways. The clarity in the name will also bring clarity to the work.
The PM started the Ro Packs Ferry service between Hazira in Surat, Gujarat to Ghogha of Bhavnagar on Sunday. With the commencement of this service, the distance between Hazira to Ghogha will be reduced from 375 km to 90 km. Where earlier it used to take 10 to 12 hours to reach Hazira from Ghogha by road, now the journey will be completed in three to four hours by sea route. On this occasion, the PM said, with the commencement of this project, the dream of the people of both Saurashtra and Gujarat regions for years has been fulfilled. This service will not only save time and money but will also reduce traffic and pollution from roads.
The previous governments ignored the waterway
The PM accused the previous governments of ignoring the waterway as compared to the road and rail route. The PM said the country has always had resources and expertise in waterways, but previous governments lacked the approach to use it. Transport through waterways is much cheaper than road and railways, yet the government did not pay attention to it. After forming our government in 2014, we started efforts in this direction. These rivers and the sea existed before Modi became Prime Minister.