- irate drivers complain
Commuters, especially vehicle owners, are experiencing long delays at the Rosignol and New Amsterdam Ferry Stellings as only one vessel has been plying the route since last Friday.
The drivers told this newspaper that they are highly inconvenienced since they have to wait for several hours before they are finally able to get onboard.
Reports are that the pontoon, MB Sandaka which was providing services after one of the ferries, MB Torani had gone to dry dock for the past two weeks, started to encounter problems on Thursday. The pontoon was working along with the MV Makouria.
Stabroek News learnt that “the pontoon was working with only one engine and took about 45 to 50 minutes to get across.” The passengers said that normally the pontoon would reach to the other side within 20 minutes. They said that on Friday the pontoon also “collapsed” and had to be taken to dry dock, leaving only the MV Makouria to ply the route.
Efforts to contact Transport and Hydraulics Minister Robeson Benn yesterday were futile.
A disgruntled passenger said, “It is coincidental that every year-end when a lot of people have to cross to do shopping and other businesses the boats would experience problems.”
According to another, “I know the boats are old and they cost a lot for maintenance but they [Transport and Harbours Department] have a service to provide to the public and they have to be more efficient.”
Drivers at the Rosignol end said they were in the line, which stretched past the stelling road, from early yesterday morning but only got on the boat in the afternoon.
Some told this newspaper that they have started to deliver stocks to companies for the Christmas season. They said normally they would reach across before midday and make their way back to Georgetown in daylight but now they are taking the entire day to get crossing.
They pointed out too that the businesses have to wait until after hours to receive the merchandise.
Some commuters from the New Amsterdam end told this newspaper that they were heading to the airport and decided to travel from the day before for their flight.
They said they were glad that they made that decision because “although we start to travel the day before we still had to wait so long and we would get to the airport just in time…”
According to another passenger who was going to the airport, “This is so frustrating. I would get to another country and come back and I can’t even cross with this boat yet.”
Meanwhile many persons have resorted to travelling with the launch at the Blairmont Stelling but even with that mode of transportation available they are still having difficulty to cross. Workers and schoolchildren said they still end up being late because the launch is not big enough to accommodate many passengers.
Some workers told this newspaper that “there is a mad rush for persons to get on the launch and even though we are regular passengers we get pushed off… some persons push us off so they can get on… it is dangerous because passengers can end up in the river.”
The govt. must be blamed for this disaster that has been around since I was a small boy. Successive govts since Independence have not done much to change the status quo. I guess that this will remain for a very long time. The new govt has been in since 1992. A simple solution can be found if the govt. has any brain. No wonder, many Guyanese are not interested in returning to the mess that is Guyana
……..abbi government …….!!…………things will get better soon singh…….
well said vijay
The Mv Torani is probably over 60 years of age the retirement age of “certain” civil servants is 55. This old tub should be resting somewnere where fishes can enjoy it as a home.. WHAT ABOUT THAT INVISIBLE BERBICE BRIDGE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OPENED LAST MONTH …..HAVING MAJOR PROBLEMS I HEAR NO ONE SEEMS TO BE QUERING THAT BLUNDER NOT EVEN THE INCONVENIENCED PASSENGERS ……AFRAID OF THE PARTY IN POWER UH ?????
Come on Stabroek News…
Please tell us about what is the latest updates on the ….INVISIBLE BERBICE BRIDGE. This is an important topic which does not appear to have been featured on your website of late.
Concerning the “white elephant” Berbice bridge, I have blogged before and I am here again blogging to relate to the guyanese nation, the TRUTH.
The Guyanese government is defying the nation by constantly publishing that the bridge is in its last phrase of completion.
Knowingly that prior the commencement of the construction of the bridge, there were no feasible studies on soil tests or any hydro-graphical surveys ever being carried out.
The bridge and access road on the Eastern side has come to a standstill or to an halt because of its’ planned pilings are not getting foundational sounding.
There are too many clay slush or silts.
Look at for example, why they have immediately stopped the construction of the access road on the Eastern side, it is because they cannot go further.
Floating pontoons, cannot be used anymore, it has to be now an arc-suspended bridge, extended deep into the access road.
They Guyanese government is aware of this but they are continuing to defy and lie to the Guyanese nation, why ???
Come on relevant Guyanese authority, be open, be frank and honest to the Guyanese nation, at least for once
Surujlall Motilall
(Hydro-concrete, water and civil engineer of the Netherlands)
Badlall & Satish !!! they use the parts from the Berbice bridge to fix the DHB. That’s why they have a delay.
All jokes aside, they should purchase 2 of the Staten Island ferries use in NY. They carry lot’s of people and vehicles. They are about one and a half to two times the size of the MV Torani.
yeah badlall thanks for bringing it up, what happen to that bridge?
What happen to the floating Berbice Bridge. It was supposed to finish since last month?
That is one of the reason why I was asking for a walkway on the bridge, They have to make provision for people living in west berbice to get across that bridge at a cheap cost not all of them have a vehicle to drive over. The Government should get a vehicle to take people to and from New Amsterdam, people who don’t own a vehicle
Does this make sense to you..then you will see how many people will not have a vehicle as long as the transportation to and fro is free… and how do you know if someone is from West Berbice or not..I think the bridge will operate like the Demerara Harbour Bridge, there is no complain so far on cost to cross this Bridge at the moment.
Well this is open season for the T&HD people at the stellings, they are going to make tons of dollars for the holidays. I have seen with my own two eyes those people taking bribes and letting vehicles from the back of the line get ahead of those in front. I wonder where they are going to get their dollars from when the bridge is finally operational.
Talking about the bridge, I had the opertunity to see the access road on the eastern side last month, well it is not a road as yet just a dam and this bridge should have been opened last month.
I hope the bridge is finally completed and some of these mess are history, lets wait and see
Going along with the other bloggers, the BRIDGE should have been functional by now. Crossing this river is a nightmare as I speak from my experience also. I was stuck midstream on the ferry at 4.00 am for nearly one hour and I was on the way to catch a plane. Fortunately I made it to the airport when TravelSpan was just closing the flight. As for the bribe giving, it is simply atrocious and very unfair to drivers waiting for one or two hours to cross.
The country needs to move forward. Enough already!!
Rest assured, it will be completed before Christmas. So we were told and we have to believe so as to calm our thoughts.
kadie, if your check back in the archives of either stabroek news or kaieteurnews, you will see it was mentioned that the bridge won’t be completed for Christmas, not until next year February, i think.
This is amazing, Berbice business is being squeezed at both ends.
Its a wonder that a more thriving speed boat operation hasn’t developed in the Berbice river, like the one between GT and West Dem, in Essequibo and at Linden.
@ Editor:
1) Whats the status of the bridge
2) I find the title of the piece a bit misleading.
here we go again, problems, problems in Berbice. Do you wonder why peopling are call for the secession of Berbice?
Mr B’c that kind of talk, is not very constructive. We have enough problems, with our borders. So cheer up, ROME was not built in a day. Plus when they hit that OIL , Berbice will have the best BRIDGE, money can buy.
Minister (Stop the monument construction) Benn has a lot on his plate these days – busy searching for the mising plane, finding the “right” spot for the monument, the bridge in the Atlantic Ocean (which I think will always have problems but I hope not) and the Demerara Harbour Bridge plus the stuff not yet publicised. No wonder the efforts to find him are fruitless!!!
That ferry crossing should have been moved to Blairmont ages ago thereby effectively shortening the crossing and cutting operational costs.
A long time ago the engines on most of the steamers were replaced by smaller engines and this is mostly to blame for the shoddy service and constant repairs. The engines are overworked. The present crop of Caterpillar Engines are not suitable Replacements for the Lister-Blackstones originally in the MV Malali, MV Makouria and MV Torani.