The boat ride in a Navy manned lagoon craft on the Beira Lake, after taking off from the historic McCallum Road pier, turned out to be exciting despite an annoying drizzle and a dark sky, indicating to us that there was a rainy day ahead.
As we waited near the pier, absorbing all the change that is taking place in this not so laid back city, the 14 seater open-canopied ferry manned by Leader Seaman K.Wijesinghe cruised down the canal and gracefully docked at the McCallum pier.
The passengers hurriedly disembarked, but their smiles vouched that they were certainly pleased with the new experience, and we waited patiently to get on board. Photographer Ranjith Asanaka and a Dinamina scribe were there with me to experience the excitement first hand.
The passenger boat service with a tourism promotion and leisure component in its long term plan in addition to easing off traffic in the metropolis was conceptualised by the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry under Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe inaugurated it on Thursday.
“I am here to go on the boat for the pleasure of it,” S.L.Fernando, Ceylon Electricity Board Investigation Officer, who waited at the pier next to me said. He counts 30 years at the CEB and is attached to the Nugegoda branch. We carefully boarded the small ferry and secured our life jackets.
Good service
“This will be a good service for workers travelling from long distances to the city in the train. I hope this service will be expanded soon,” Fernando who travels from Gampaha to Colombo daily said. His suggestion was sensible, especially, since the McCallum pier is right next to the country’s biggest Fort Railway station.
The boat service is maintained by the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (SLLRDC) and operated by the Navy. Chairman SLLRDC, Roshan Gunawardena, who returned to inspect the service on its second day of the inauguration said, “The fare for the boat service will be determined at the end of the pilot project,” adding that more than easing the traffic congestion, the ferry service is expected to be added to popular leisure components in the metropolis. The ferry as it cruised down the historic Dutch era canal towards its Vauxhall street stop, unfolded a completely different landscape of the Colombo city, a beautiful view with proof of a rapidly changing skyline and the city’s iconic landmark, the Lotus tower, in the back ground.
The project has cost the Ministry a total of Rs. 100 million and it will improve the cleanliness of Colombo’s waterways. Ministers Patali Champika Ranawaka, Arjuna Ranatunga, and Mangala Samaraweera and Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake attended the ferry launch on Thursday.
Future plans
Ferry services from Battaramulla to Wellawatte along the canal going through Nawala and from Mattakkuliya to Hanwella along the Kelani river are also on the cards to ease traffic flow to the capital and they are expected to get off the ground with the success of the pilot project.
The MacCallum Road - Vauxhall street ferry service currently operates three lagoon crafts, two 14 seater ferries and one 50 seater air-conditioned craft. The Navy is building another 50 seater craft and it is to be added to the fleet within two weeks. According to the Lead Seaman of the boat the three crafts were earlier used for duty on the Diyawanna lake. A few years ago, the Navy put to test a similar service from the Open University to Wellawatte but it did not last long.
”The passengers look for comfort, the boats used there were very basic and that was a reason why it became a failure. The air-conditioned ferries on Beira Lake are expected to popularise this service among the middle class, ” the SLLRDC Chairman said. For the benefit of the ordinary workers in the city which comprise the vast majority, it is our earnest hope that the same fate will not befall this latest attempt and the fare for the ferry service will be within the means of the working class.
Pix Ranjith Asanka