India, Aug. 27 -- Ports Minister Nitesh Rane on Tuesday announced that the Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry service from Mumbai to Konkan will begin from September 1, as weather conditions will be suitable for sea transport services then. This will halve the travel time from Mumbai to Jaigad in Ratnagiri to just 3-4 hours. Similarly, Mumbai to Vijaydurg in Sindhudurg will take only 5-6 hours. The service could not be started before Ganesh Chaturthi, as initially planned, to prioritise the safety of passengers in light of disruptive weather conditions, Rane said.

"But as per the meteorological department reports, the weather conditions are now improving. We will conduct a test run over the next five days and commence the commercial service ...