MUMBAI, 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, he 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 on September 1. The Ro-Ro service will start in Mumbai from Bhau Cha Dhakka at 6.30am. After reaching Vijaydurg, it will start its return journey in two hours," Rane said in a press conference at Mantralaya. Currently, it takes 8 hours to reach Ratnagiri by road and 6 hours by train. But, with this Ro-Ro service, travel time will be reduced to half. Rane said his department has obtained 147 permissions for this service, and the vessels are fully ready. With clearances from the Union Shipping Ministry, the Directorate General of Shipping, the Maharashtra Maritime Board, and the Mumbai Port Authority, the service was designed to reduce road congestion while offering a faster and safer alternative to long highway journeys. "The M2M Princess, a vessel for Ro-Ro service, travels fast and is the fastest passenger-cum-vehicle ferry in South Asia," Rane informed. "It will reduce travel time to Konkan by half. People can travel with their two-wheeler, four-wheeler, or even bus for their further journey from Jaigad or Vijaydurg port." The first phase of the service is connecting only Jaigad and Vijaydurg. However, Rane said, the government plans to include new jetties at Shrivardhan and Mandwa, among other destinations in Konkan....