Muscat: Khasab residents in the Musandam region of Oman, especially expatriate Indians, are breathing a sigh of relief after news that a ferry service to Muscat is to be launched in less than two months' time.
"We have been assured by the Omani government that the high speed ferry service will start before May 1, 2008 and these vessels will have the capacity to carry cars," Indian ambassador to Oman, Anil Wadhwa, said on Thursday during a press conference at the mission premises in the Al Khuwair district.
The Musandam region, due to its geographical position and mountainous terrain, is isolated from the rest of Oman and separated by the UAE. Thus, every resident has to travel through the UAE to come to Muscat or any other part of the Sultanate by road.
"We have a large number of Indians living in Khasab and the new ferry service will give them easy access to Muscat," the Indian envoy said.
Each time an expatriate, travelling from Khasab to any other part of Oman, has to procure a UAE visa to cross from their territories and this has proved to be very cumbersome, especially for low-wage earners.
The long nine to ten hour drive from Khasab to Muscat will also be now cut to around three hours thanks to the high speed catamarans.
Wadhwa thanked Oman's Minister of Transport Khamis Bin Mubarak Al Alawi for his positive response to ease the problems of the residents of Khasab. He also thanked Alawi for a prompt response and for starting a shuttle bus service from the main road of Al Khuwair to the new embassy premises, which is tucked in a far corner of the diplomatic enclave.
Meanwhile, Wadhwa announced the Indian mission will hold a charity ball on March 13 for the Omani charitable organisation of Dar Al Atta (House of Giving).
"The Dar Al Atta charity is doing a fine job of helping people in Oman without any discrimination and we have decided to help them raise funds," he said.
