CCEA nod for acquisition of two passenger vessels for Lakshadweep

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a proposal by the Union Territory of Lakshadweep (UTL) Administration for the acquisition of two 400-passenger vessels at an indicative cost of Rs 360 crore.

An official press release said the decision would mitigate the transportation difficulties faced by the people of Lakshadweep.

It said these vessels would be deployed in the mainland-Lakshadweep sector and provide a passenger service between Kochi in Kerala and islands in the Union Territory.

According to the release, though shipping is the lifeline of the people of the Lakshadweep islands, the UTL Administration has only three all-weather vessels - M.V. Kavaratti, M.V. Tipu Sultan and M.V. Bharat Seema.

Of these, Tipu Sultan and Bharat Seema have outlived their economic life and urgently need to be phased out, it said.

There has been demand from the islanders for providing adequate number of passenger ships for proper inter-island and island-mainland and vice-versa connectivity and to improve shipping services in the Lakshadweep group of islands.

NNN