Commuters using the Berbice ferry expressed displeasure recently at the way they were treated at the Rosignol stelling.
One woman said she and two other persons attempted to enter the gate at around 8:20 am but the gateman promptly pushed the gate in and her foot was struck in the process. Ferry passengers were still in the waiting room and vehicles were also being loaded when the incident occurred, she said.
She along with others protested loudly and appealed to the worker to let them in. But he ignored them saying that the general manager (GM) of Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD) was visiting and had ordered them to close.
According to the woman, since the GM was there he should have intervened but he “did not have the courtesy to come out and speak to us. Another worker just came out and said he was sorry that the gateman pushed the gate on my foot.”
She said that vehicles were also locked out even though the boat had space to accommodate about four more. The workers did not open the gate to let the drivers in even though they kept honking their horns, she observed.
A crowd had built up at the stelling by then and the boat left about ten minutes later. The woman said she never got to work until after 10 am.
She declared that the fact that the GM was at the stelling was no excuse for the workers to behave in that manner. “So what if the manager is there? When they [T&HD] are late most of the time we can’t say anything.”
Meanwhile, some vehicle owners pointed out that sometimes they have to wait a protracted time to cross because of the long line at the stelling.
They said they were really inconvenienced by this and are questioning why the Blairmont stelling that was constructed recently at a cost of millions of dollars is not being used by the pontoon.
According to them the pontoon was operating from Stanleytown to Blairmont and then from New Amsterdam (NA) to Blairmont. During the Christmas holidays, however, the pontoon stopped using the Blairmont route and was operating from NA to Rosignol to help ease the traffic.
But commuters had pointed out that the arrangement was not very effective since one boat had to wait midstream almost one hour for the other vessels to remove from either stelling before it could moor.
In an invited comment, regional chairman of Region Six, Zulfikar Mustapha said the Blairmont stelling is not being used currently as the area is silted up and very shallow. He said the river has to be dredged first before the pontoon can use it.
Meantime passengers, including workers and schoolchildren using the launch service from Blairmont to NA said they cannot get to use the waiting area at the Blairmont stelling since most of the time one particular guard keeps the door closed.
They said recently they were left to wait on the launch in the rain and the door was still not opened. Persons operating the launch said that should not have happened since they pay landing fees at both stellings.
This newspaper observed a guard on duty entering the waiting room and closing the door behind him. He only opened when someone he knew knocked on the door and told him he wanted to use the lavatory.
Asked why the door was not open for passengers, the guard told Stabroek News that the stelling was built for the pontoon and since the pontoon is not working there is no need for him to keep the door open. But he said he still allows the launch passengers to use it sometimes especially when it rains.
The guard said his reason for keeping the door closed that morning was because someone had used the toilet in the waiting room and left without flushing it although he [the guard] had fetched water for him to do so.
Mustapha said as far as he knows the passengers using the launch are supposed to be accommodated in the waiting area. He admitted that the ferry service is not so reliable and said he would see to it that the passengers get improved service.