Two launches brought by the state transport department for safer and faster journey between two river ports of Malda and Murshidabad districts could not be introduced for service as the height of the vessels surpassed the gap between the water level and the sluice gates of Farakka Barrage.

The launches first needed to move from one side to another side of the barrage on the Ganga and only then, services can be launched between the Parlalpur Ghat in the Baishnabnagar block of Malda and Dhulian Ghat in Murshidabad.

The two ghats, which are on the left and right banks of the Ganga, are located downstream the barrage.

Such a situation has made the district administration of Malda plan of bringing in launches which have lesser heights.

Sources said both the launches had reached Farakka from Hooghly about a fortnight ago. Each of the launches is 60ft long and 15ft wide with a height 20ft. A launch can carry 80 passengers.

“Around Rs 4 crore have been spent by the state government to buy the launches. It was planned to introduce the launches to ferry people between Parlalpur Ghat of Baishnabnagar block in Malda and Dhulian Ghat in Murshidabad. As of now, around 2,000 people travel through on the route in motorised country boats every day. The launches were brought to ensure a safe journey to these people,” said an official of the administration.“The problem has cropped up as the launches reached Farakka the upstream of the barrage. As these vehicles tried to cross the barrage from under the sluice gates, it was found that the gap (between the water and the gate) is 15ft, while each launch has a height of 20ft,” the official added.

According to him, there are two options. One is to send back the launches and get smaller ones as the administration has planned.

“The other is to get those launches downstream through a turnaround route. But it is an elaborate process and we might even need the help of Bangladesh as the Ganga enters the country before meeting Bay of Bengal,” he said.

The launches were brought to prevent accidents like boat capsise on the Ganga. Earlier, such incidents had happened in Malda and led to loss of peoples’ lives. In one year, there were two incidents of boat capsise in Chanchal and Baishnabnagar, which had led to the death of around 10 people.Rajarshi Mitra, the district magistrate of Malda, said: “We could not introduce the launch services between the neighbouring districts because of this problem. That is why we have requested the state to send us smaller launches with shorter heights and with capacity of around 40 passengers.”

In Malda, boat services are available at a number of other locations of the district along the Ganga. Among them are the service between Jharkhand from Panchanandapur Ghat in Kaliachak-II block and Manikchak Ghat in Manikchak block.

Also, boat services are available in Chanchal and Harishchandrapur blocks on the Mahananda and Fulhar rivers.

The technical issue that has halted introduction of launch services between Malda and Murshidabad has left the daily commuters disappointed.

“Journeying by launch is always much safer and quicker than boats. We had learnt about the launch service but later came to know that the launches could not cross the barrage. It is disappointing. We find this water route easy to access but the risk of travelling over the Ganga in a small motorboat is always there,” said Tarun Mandal, a cattle trader from Parlalpur who often visits Dhulian in Murshidabad.