The Howrah-Kolkata ferry service resumed on Thursday afternoon, less than 24 hours after workers of the Hooghly River Water Transport Cooperative Society Limited stopped operations over alleged non-payment of festival bonuses and other dues.
The resumption followed a meeting between the workers and Umesh Rai, the Minister of State for the state’s municipal affairs and urban development department and MLA from North Howrah. Rai met the employees at his Howrah office on Thursday morning and assured them that their pending payments and demands would be addressed, according to the report by Sangbad Pratidin – Kolkata.
The workers subsequently withdrew their strike, allowing launch services on the Hooghly to return to normal from Thursday afternoon. The stoppage had begun around Wednesday afternoon and was announced as an indefinite work stoppage, disrupting ferry movement between Howrah and Kolkata during the festive period.
The suspension affected 16 ferry routes. On the principal Howrah-Kolkata connection, services on the Howrah-Chandpal and Ramkrishnapur-Chandpal routes were halted. Ferry operations from Howrah to Armenian Ghat, Ahiritola, Shobhabazar and Bagbazar were also stopped, along with services on routes including Nazirgunge-Metiabruz, Gadiara-Gadiakhali, Nurpur and Bauria.
The disruption was particularly significant for passengers using the river service to travel between the two cities for festival visits. With launches not operating on Wednesday, commuters who depend on the ferry network faced difficulties reaching central Kolkata from Howrah and returning across the river.
A worker at Nazirgunge ferry ghat, Chandan Bhowmik, said the minister had heard the employees’ demands and assured them that their outstanding payments would be made. He added that Rai had requested workers to keep launch services running during the festival period, and that the employees ended their work stoppage in response to that appeal.
The episode highlights the operational dependence of Howrah-Kolkata river connectivity on the workforce operating the ferry network. While services have resumed, the report does not specify the amount of the pending dues, the timeline for payment or whether a formal agreement has been signed between the workers and the cooperative society. The immediate next step is the promised resolution of the workers’ claims while ferry operations continue during the festive season.
