Dozens of truckers have been stranded for days after one of the ferries servicing the Parika-Adventure route was docked for maintenance while the lone remaining vessel is unable to carry all of their vehicles.
The MV Malali and the MV Torani normally ply the Essequibo River route, making a round trip each per day. However, after working last Saturday, the Malali was docked. The barge MB Baramani was supposed to take over but after it was sent to Parika, a malfunctioning generator used to power the vessel’s lights forced it back to the dock, Stabroek News was told.
Since Sunday, the Torani was the lone ferry in operation on the route and since it can only accommodate 28 vehicles per trip, there has been a build-up of trucks. The vessel makes one trip per day. Up to yesterday, there were about three dozen trucks waiting to be transported to Essequibo, while at Adventure, there were about 80 vehicles waiting to be transported to Parika, this newspaper was told.
When contacted yesterday, Minister of Transport and Hydraulics Robeson Benn said that a press statement would be issued today. He briefly said that the barge had a mechanical problem, which they are working to fix. He added that on Monday only three trucks travelled on the Ferry. Stabroek News was unable to contact the clerk in charge at Parika, Aaron Jagroop.
Several truckers at Parika told this newspaper yesterday, that they had been waiting since Monday for passage on the ferry. It was pointed out that vehicles heading to the island of Wakenaam and “priority” vehicles were given precedence in the vessel and so there was limited space for trucks.
According to the truckers, the Baramani was docked for over a year and when it came out, it still had the generator problem and they questioned the thoroughness of the job done. Several expressed concern that parts of their cargo, such as potatoes, were perishable and they would have to replace the spoilt goods. They said that officials at the stelling are not telling them anything. “Nobody giving you no necessary information.”
They said that the traffic just keeps building up. “We wukking this for we living,” Fazir Mohammed said. “It’s very, very costly if you have to wait here.” He noted that he transports items for an Essequibo business and only gets paid upon delivery. If the goods spoil, he would have to pay, he said. “The profit we meking, we gotta eat it out here,” he added. He was hoping to get space on the ferry yesterday but said that this was uncertain.
The drivers said that when the Malali and Torani work, normally they don’t spend more than a night there. They said that Essequibo depends on the items they bring from the city while Georgetown also benefits from the produce they carry there. They are calling on the authorities to quickly rectify the problem and send a vessel.
