Govt decides to end ferry service on River Indus

KALABAGH: The government of Punjab has decided to end ferry service on River Indus, ARY News reported on Sunday.

The employees connected with the ferry service have received notices about dismissal from their jobs. The project titled ‘Inland Transportation’ by the Inland Water Transport Development Company (IWTDC) was initiated during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with a cost of Rs one billion.

The employees staged a protest against government move to dismiss them from their jobs. It is reported that a few employees of the ferry service had already been shown the door some months ago.

The trial of the ferry service was carried out by the Inland Water Transport Company in collaboration with the Government of Punjab.

The service, set up for tourists, initially offered rides between Kalabagh and Attock, and later was expanded to other areas. Under the initiative, resorts for tourists were also to be set up on the same route.

The Indus River Channel had carried out an initial survey with the support of Pakistan Navy. A group of entrepreneurs from the private sector provided the funding to evaluate the feasibility of this channel while retired navy officers supervised the project.