As part of the 150^th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday launched the third ferry service from Kanyakumari boat jetty to Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar statue, through videoconferencing facility from the Secretariat. The new ferry, costing Rs.1.08 crore, was supplied by Neptune Marine Private Ltd. Named ‘Motor Launch Vivekananda’, it replaces M.L. Bhagirathi which had ferried tourists for nearly 36 years. M.L. Bhagirathi and M.L. Tamiraparani were damaged by destructive tidal waves of Tsunami on December 26, 2004. They were replaced by M.L. Gugan and M.L. Pothigai during 2008.

Poompuhar Shipping Company (PSC), which was entrusted with the ferrying operations since August 1984, has two more ferries, namely M.L. Gugan and M.L. Pothigai. All these ferries have a seating capacity of 150 tourists each. During the peak season (December-January and April-May), PSC ferried 3,000 tourists per day.

Interestingly, in 1992, the Corporation owned a launch named after Vivekananda. It was built with financial assistance of Union Tourism Department for Rs. 39 lakh. However, it was also washed away by Tsunami tidal waves. M.L. Bhagirathi’s service was suspended in January 2013.

New flyover

The Chief Minister also launched a 773.89 metre new flyover in Cuddalore district. The opening up of the flyover will benefit thousands of people travelling from Cuddalore, Chidambaram, and Virudachalam to places such as Athur and Salem, the release said.