By Shabna Ullah
Passengers aboard the MV Makouria and the pontoon, MB Sandaka were stranded on both sides of the Berbice River for about four hours on Saturday as the gantry at New Amsterdam (NA) encountered mechanical problems.
Persons said that the problem with the gantry started around midday and passengers had to endure the long wait without any explanation from officials at the Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD).
After finally learning of the problem, one passenger commented, “We know anything can break down but at least they could have informed us about it. We would have felt satisfied if the captain had explained what is going on and tell us how long we would have had to wait.”
Some passengers at the Rosignol end told Stabroek News that they had been at the stelling at around 11:45 am to get to their destinations on time but the boat never left until 2:40 pm.
Others said that they had missed important appointments and meetings. This reporter was onboard the pontoon before 2 pm and was unable to cover a 4 pm assignment at Number 36 Village because the vessel never moored at the NA stelling until 3:45 pm. The pontoon had to be anchored in the river to await the removal of the boat from the NA stelling so it could moor.
Some commuters were seen boarding the Makouria on a shaky plank set up at another section of the boat and a few, desperate to get across had to be lifted onboard. Reports are that the vehicles had already been loaded onto the ferry at the NA stelling when the gantry broke.
Some passengers at NA who had been heading for the airport were afraid they would have missed their flights. A number of Surinamese who arrived in the country for the football match were among the stranded passengers at NA.
A media person with the Suriname team said that his job was affected because he was supposed to have gotten to the venue early to set up his cameras to transmit the match live to his country.
The pontoon was filled to capacity and many passengers had to be standing almost at the edge. Children were becoming restless while some adults openly voiced their concerns about the delay, shouting that they could not wait for the Berbice Bridge to be completed.
According to a woman who was at the stelling at 11:45 am, “I left home very early and I did not have lunch and now I am feeling exhausted; I was not prepared for this.”
Another remarked, “It is not fair for us to be waiting so long in the hot sun; they could have taken the pontoon to Stanleytown [stelling] instead…”
Before the pontoon left the Rosignol stelling angry drivers started to honk their horns loudly but a commuter overheard the workers at the stelling remarking “they blowing as if they going to a wedding… let them wait there.”
A woman said she tried to find out from a worker if there was a problem at the other end that was causing the delay and the worker responded “I don’t know.”
Many persons at the NA end opted to cross via the launch to the Blairmont stelling while others from Rosignol were forced to hire fishing boats.
Meanwhile, this newspaper learnt that around 10 am while the boat was loading at NA, oil from the gantry gushed down on a white car, changing it instantly to black. Reports are that the car and gangway had to be cleaned before the boat started loading again.
