Good news for residents of Kalyan and Vasai in Mumbai as people can now cover a distance of 47-kilometre distance between the two cities in just 70 minutes at a nominal cost of Rs 29. As per reports, the Thane Municipal Commissioner (TMC) on Monday announced that the first ferry from Kalyan-Thane to Vasai will be made operational by the end of December. The project is being funded by the government and the first phase, will cost Rs 600 crores.

Reportedly, the Inland Water Transport (IWT) will be implemented in three phases. The dense Ulhas river, Thane creek and coastal network offers viability for developing an inland water transport system in the Mumbai metropolitan region. The first phase will be from Vasai to Thane to Kalyan, the second from Thane to Mumbai, and the third phase from Thane to Navi Mumbai. A detailed project report for the first phase has already been submitted to the Central government.

The route on the first phase will be termed as National Waterway 53. The corporation decided to extend the first phase of the waterway to Vasai and Mira Bhayander since the Thane creek runs into the Arabian Sea. Last year, it was announced that Ro-Ro car ferry service will get operational from Mumbai to Alibaug, which would reduce the travel time of around 4 hours on road. Each vessel has the capacity to carry 40 cars and 350 passengers. As per reports, the attempt of this service is to de-congest the northern end of the Mumbai-Goa highway, particularly over the weekend. The best part is that,  it is said to be in operation during the monsoons as well, when the regular passenger ferry remains suspended.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 29, 2018 01:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).