The Elephanta Island Ferry Issue
For about 80-odd ferries, plying between Gateway of India and Elephanta Island on a daily basis, the laws regarding their safety are in place but only on paper. While the law strictly prohibits travel on the top deck of the passenger boats, owing to issues of balance and risks during plying, in reality the law is broken flagrantly and in acute disdain by them all. "Why, even despite the tickets to Elephanta Island clearly maintaining that travelling on the top deck of a boat is prohibited, all the boats permit you to travel on the top deck and charge each passenger an extra fee of Rs 10 for it," says Graphic designer and Elephanta regular Mayank Joshi.
In 2015, a ferry boat capsized near Elephanta Island putting the spotlight once again on the violation of safety rules. Despite a maximum limit of 100- 150 persons on passenger boats, each boat carries not less than 200 persons, almost as a rule, with about a 80-odd tourists on the top deck risking life and limb of all. All boats are registered with the fishery department and there are no set of legal norms that can be applied directly. The department can, at best, revoke a boat-owner’s licence or cut the diesel subsidy, but cannot prosecute a violator. For that, the Coast Guard or local police has to act.
And, the local police are busy checking the bags carried by visitors to The Gateway of India anticipating a terror attack since 2008, till date. That the actual risk to life and limb may arise at sea, on the passenger boats flouting the law, or through a terror attack 'from' the sea, as was the case in 2008 when the terrorists arrived by sea from Pakistan, is lost on the police.
A ferry boat from Mumbai’s Gateway of India to Elephanta Island costs Rs 150 for a return trip for an adult. The sea of tourists visiting Elephanta Island, arriving from interiors of India even rural India, travel by this mode. The UberBOAT that plies from Mumbai to Elephanta Island or Raigad costs Rs 950 per person per one-way trip translating into a pricey Rs 1,900 for a return trip for an adult and a completely unviable option for the masses.
It would be simply out of reach for a middle-class family complete with elderly in-laws, parents, grand-parents and children. The UberBOAT is an exclusive service for a privileged few, by the very nature of the economics involved, and not a substitute for the modest ferry boat available to the masses.
This report has been prepared for DraftCraft International’s flagship initiative The Public Space Project in conjunction with its pilot endeavours - The Right To Walk Project, The Gateway of India Project and The Elephanta Island Project to research, analyse and determine the rights of the common man, the pedestrian, the tourist and the rights of the masses availing public transportation in contrast to those privileged few owning private vehicles. The initiative examines laws and policies regarding transport, access to public spaces and privacy guaranteed to all by the State in context of the Right To Equality, Freedoms and the Right to Life.
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| For the 80-odd ferries, plying between Gateway of India and Elephanta Island on
a daily basis, the laws regarding their safety are in place but only on paper |
And, the local police are busy checking the bags carried by visitors to The Gateway of India anticipating a terror attack since 2008, till date. That the actual risk to life and limb may arise at sea, on the passenger boats flouting the law, or through a terror attack 'from' the sea, as was the case in 2008 when the terrorists arrived by sea from Pakistan, is lost on the police.
A ferry boat from Mumbai’s Gateway of India to Elephanta Island costs Rs 150 for a return trip for an adult. The sea of tourists visiting Elephanta Island, arriving from interiors of India even rural India, travel by this mode. The UberBOAT that plies from Mumbai to Elephanta Island or Raigad costs Rs 950 per person per one-way trip translating into a pricey Rs 1,900 for a return trip for an adult and a completely unviable option for the masses.
It would be simply out of reach for a middle-class family complete with elderly in-laws, parents, grand-parents and children. The UberBOAT is an exclusive service for a privileged few, by the very nature of the economics involved, and not a substitute for the modest ferry boat available to the masses.
This report has been prepared for DraftCraft International’s flagship initiative The Public Space Project in conjunction with its pilot endeavours - The Right To Walk Project, The Gateway of India Project and The Elephanta Island Project to research, analyse and determine the rights of the common man, the pedestrian, the tourist and the rights of the masses availing public transportation in contrast to those privileged few owning private vehicles. The initiative examines laws and policies regarding transport, access to public spaces and privacy guaranteed to all by the State in context of the Right To Equality, Freedoms and the Right to Life.
