The Hindu : Kerala News : Lakshadweep administration revises fares for vessels

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Monday, Mar 31, 2008
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Lakshadweep administration revises fares for vessels

Staff Reporter

Androth-Kochi sector fare will be Rs.210 a person
Kavaratti-Minicoy sector fare will be Rs.210

KOCHI: The Lakshadweep administration has reduced passenger fares for the new vessels acquired by the Administration for both mainland-island and inter-island passages. The decision was taken by Union Territory Administrator B.V. Selvaraj.

The revised fares on the Androth-Kochi sector will be Rs.210 per person. The revised fare for the Androth-Beypore sector will be Rs.165. Androth-Mangalore fare will be Rs.200. Passenger fare in the Kavaratti-Minicoy sector will be Rs.210.

A communication from the administration said here that the decision to reduce the fares was taken after a review of the fares for the new high-speed vessels.

The review showed that though the new vessels were high-speed and had modern onboard facilities their capacity utilisation was just 10 per cent.

High fares

The main reason for the low capacity utilisation was the high fares fixed in October 2006. The Administrator found that a passage from Androth to Kochi cost only Rs.190 on MV Amindivi and MV Minicoy whereas a passage on a high speed vessel in the same sector cost Rs.890.

Similarly, sailing from Kavaratti to the southern most island of Minicoy on MV Amindivi or MV Minicoy costs Rs.180 only per head. For the high-speed vessels it is Rs.760 a person.

The Union Territory administration found that the new high-speed vessels had not benefited the people as people found the fares unaffordable.

The Lakshadweep administration had acquired the new high-speed vessels in 2006-07 mainly for inter-island passages.

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