Kestopur canal, clogged by hyacinth, where a ferry will ply from January. A Telegraph picture

Come January, the much-awaited launch service on Kestopur canal will be operational. A 14-km stretch of the canal, from Chitpur to Rajarhat New Town, will then be navigable and take less than an hour to cover.

?Forget the nightmarish traffic snarls. Out of the 42-km-long Kestopur canal, we will introduce the launch service on a 14-km stretch, between Chitpur Lockgate and Rajarhat New Town, from January 1, 2005,? Biswanath Chowdhury, minister for jails and social welfare, announced on Friday.

Chowdhury said the decision was taken at a meeting in Writers? Buildings with chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and officials from various agencies, including the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC).

Chowdhury is presently also in charge of the irrigation department, following his cabinet colleague Ganesh Mondal?s death. He said the irrigation department has been dredging the 42-km canal since 1999 at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

?We have heard that the canal was once navigable. But over the years, it has got clogged due to lack of regular maintenance,? he added.

According to the minister, the launch service will improve the quality of life in Rajarhat New Town and its adjoining areas, where the road links are not quite up to the mark.

?After dusk, road transport is very poor in the area. The launch service will be of great help, as it will take less than an hour for commuters to travel from Rajarhat New Town to Chitpur, and vice versa.?

Irrigation department officials said the launches will also be used for transporting goods, especially perishable items like vegetables, fish and fruits.

A senior official of the WBIDC, assigned to oversee the launch service, said five bidders have already been selected. ?Now, we will have to choose one out of the five,? he said.

He added that a body comprising officials from the irrigation department and other agencies has been constituted to decide on the fare structure.