Passengers to Lakshadweep were left stranded in Kochi on Saturday after a senior official allegedly booked 65 seats illegally on board MV Kavaratti. Passengers, who had arrived at the boarding point, were informed that they could not enter the ship as 65 seats had already been reserved. There was a tussle between the passengers and wharf officials before the ship left Kochi.
According to N K Anwar Hussain, block Congress secretary of Kalpeni Island, who was with his family for some medical treatment here, said when they enquired, they found out that the tickets were reserved well in advance.
“MV Kavaratti is a 700-capacity passenger ship. 150 seats are reserved for tourists. The remaining seats are available only to the islanders. Out of those seats, 65 were reserved illegally,” he said. He said they would have to wait for one more week for another ship to leave for Kalpeni Island.
Anwar Hussain said even though a complaint was filed before the police, they refused to take any action.
The passengers are planning to forward a complaint to the Home Ministry on the matter.