Thane’s guardian minister Ganesh Naik in a public function on Monday spoke of the possibility of starting a water route from CBD Belapur to Vasai and that its services could be taken up to the Gateway of India and Mahagiri in Thane.
Naik said that he has spoken to the state government in this matter and expects the services to start between Belapur and the Gateway of India as soon as possible.
He also toured Thane creek and found that there were many small points, which can act as stops in between, especially between Belapur and Thane. But he was unclear on what type of boats could be used for the purpose since the depth of the creek varies from place to place, and also who would implement the project.
“A service between Thane and Belapur is a possibility, but the creek needs to be desilted like the way Mithi has been desilted. If this happens, the boat service can be taken up to Ghodbunder road where the creek is wide and deep. Further, the service can be extended up to Vasai and Palghar,” Naik said.
The CIDCO in 1997 had started a water service from Navi Mumbai (CBD Belapur) which extended to the Gateway of India. But the service was terminated in the year 2000 as it was financially not feasible. But a private service still exists from CBD Belapur to Elephanta caves.
“Thane creek was used for navigation, especially from Kalyan to Vasai, by taking a route via Balkum and Ghodbunder. If one wanted to go to Navi Mumbai, bigger boats had to be used in the Arabian sea,” said Thane-based history scholar Sadashiv Tetwilkar.
Professor Vidydhar Walawalkar from Enviro-vigil, an NGO that has done work on Thane creek, said, “Thane creek, at this point of time, is unused. If it is used properly, it will not only help the traffic problems but there will also be some movement in the creek which is necessary for any water body.”