Jetty Project on Dhamra River

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Ministry of, the Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) announced on 16th April about the much awaited Rs 110-crore jetty project, connecting Kaninali in Bhadrak district and Talachua in Kendrapara district of Odisha.

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This project will come up on the Dhamra river, that will cut the travel time for passengers from 6 hours by road to 1 hour by waterway.

The ministry has informed that the ROPAX (roll-on/roll-off passenger) jetty project will ease out indirect employment opportunities to locals around the Dhamra river and reduce road distance of 200 km from Talachua to Dhamra.

Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) has accorded administrative approval for sanction of Rs 50.30 crore for developing all-weather ROPAX (Roll-on/Roll-off Passenger) Jetty and allied infrastructure connecting Kaninali in Bhadrak district and Talachua in Kendrapara district, Odisha under the Sagarmala initiative.

The government of Odisha will finance another 50 per cent cost of the project.

According to the ministry, the total capital cost of the project is Rs 110.60 crore which encompasses construction of RO-PAX Jetty at Kaninali and Talachua, utility infrastructures such as parking area development, navigational aids and dredging.

Kaninali in Bhadrak district and Talachua in Kendrapada district, are situated on the northern and southern banks of River Dhamra respectively. The people of Talachua and closeby villages largely depend upon Dhamra port for their livelihood, which is around 4 km from Kaninali Ghat.

The ministry remarked that since there is no connectivity through road, the local population depends upon passenger ferries at ghats of Kaninali and Talachua to cross the river that is a stretch of 7 km.

The ministry has ensured that the project will enhance the safety of passengers and vehicles with state-of-the-art utility infrastructure.

The connectivity will increase the economic activities and raise the socio-economic status of the surrounding region.

Roll-On/Roll-Off

Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships devised to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter. This is in variation to lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) vessels, which use a crane to load and unload cargo.