Dear Editor,
Over the past few months, I had cause to use the pontoon crossing at Kurupukari a few times and almost every time there were delays which prevented me crossing on schedule. It is clear that the design and operation of this service has become obsolete and there is need for an urgent upgrade to cope with the increased flow of traffic, and more particularly, the drastic increase in size of the vehicles using this crossing. For context, the most common form of heavy vehicles on the GT-Lethem road is now the massive 28 wheeler double trailer trucks coming from Brazil. They outnumber the local trucks and almost always move in a convoy of three or more. On any given day, at least one convoy of massive Brazilian trucks are seen on the roads.
Many times there are multiple convoys moving in both directions to and from G/town. When these trucks arrive at the Kurupukari crossing, it creates chaos because of their size which means less space on the pontoon for smaller vehicles. So the end result is a long delay while these massive trucks have to use extreme precision to reverse onto the pontoon which barely accommodate the head of the truck and one trailer. After that, there is a mad rush among smaller vehicles to scramble on to the pontoon. Of course, drivers who arrived long after the earlier ones wriggle their way on to the pontoon before those lawfully waiting in line.
Adding further delay to the process are staff of Mekdeci Mining Company [MMC] who say they cross on the hour but then decide to load on the hour. When it is meal time, the staff casually leave the pontoon, go up to their camp and then casually saunter back to the pontoon irrespective of the time. Rarely does a pontoon cross on the hour as stipulated by the company. Adding further woes are some rather old engines being used on the pontoon. When they decide to give problems, and they frequently do, then the crossing is delayed by hours.
The company can do a lot more to improve this service. For starters, a drive on drive off pontoon has become an absolute necessity. Such pontoons were once operated by Omai Gold Mines and can also be seen at the Cuyuni River crossing for Guyana Goldfields. These catered specifically for the massive fuel tankers that serviced these mining locations. It allowed these massive vehicles to simply drive on a pontoon and drive off. At the Kurupukari crossing, these huge trucks have to reverse down a steep incline to get on to the pontoon. When the rain falls, the steep incline makes it an absolute challenge for these trucks to reverse because of the slippery nature of the slope.
There are some other simple administrative changes that can improve the operation of the pontoon service. The pontoon staff should be mandated to commence loading at least 15 minutes before the hour so that the crossing can commence promptly on the hour. Further, the staff should never have to leave the pontoon to return to the camp, located at least by a ten minutes’ walk to and from, for their meals. Meals and refreshment should be served on the pontoon. That way they are always on call. There should also be consideration for a ticketing system to prevent vehicles from “jumping” the line when it comes to loading. Maybe the presence of a security officer on the pontoon, as is the case at Mango Landing, to ensure law and order, may help in this process.
Here’s hoping the government teams up with MMC to ensure that the service at this pontoon crossing is rapidly upgraded so customers can be provided with a much more reliable service which is timely and efficient.
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Provided)
