Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched his pet/dream project yesterday – the ‘Ro-Ro ferry services’ – from Ghogha to Dahej across the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat while making his third visit to his home State in less than a month, which assumes significance as the State is slated to vote to elect a new Assembly later this year.

Opposition parties have been accusing the Election Commission of purposely delaying announcing the poll schedule for Gujarat so as to enable the BJP Govt. in the State to announce as many sops as it could to get people’s votes.  Modi’s third visit to Gujarat in less than a month is also pointed out as well-planned ahead of Assembly polls.  Chief-minister Vijay Rupani announced some populist schemes only recently.

Inaugurating the dream project, which he termed as the ‘first-of-its-kind’ in South East Asia, Modi travelled by the first ferry along with many disabled children, naming them as ‘guests of the Almighty’.  It may be recalled that it was Modi who laid the foundation stone to launch the Rs.1,140 crore project way back in 2012 when he was the then chief-minister of Gujarat.

The ferry services cut the travel time from eight hours to one hour and reduces the land distance of more than 350 km to just 31 km, thus giving a huge boost to those associated with the diamond-cutting and polishing hub of Surat.  The Prime Minister also underlined the need for better use of the country’s waterways while attacking the Congress for attempting to stall people-centric projects.