Commuters are peeved at the deplorable condition of the Parika Stelling and have called for it to be modernised and extended with better systems so that it could generate more revenue.
Last November, the Transport & Harbours Department (T&HD) had said that the Parika stelling would see $22 million spent towards its rehabilitation which would include works to repair the roll on/roll off area and the fortification of the catwalk. Repairs were expected to start early this year.
Commuters last week spoke to Stabroek News about the dire conditions.
They suggested that parking spaces could be created for the vehicles using the boat and that “hire cars can even go up the stelling for passengers and pay a fee to transport.”
The stelling is the gateway to Bartica and the country’s interior. Wakenaam and many other islands are also accessible and “it is time they start looking at its image because foreigners and a lot of other people are passing through here.”
They said there should be an office and accommodation at that location for the traffic manager because that is the hub of T&HD business.
“If the government [officials] want progress, they have to come and listen to people on the ground and those who have been around the system for a long time…”
The commuters blamed management for incompetence. They are surprised that the new government hasn’t already begun work on the stelling.
According to them, “If they do a better stelling they would get more money. Right now this is a loophole…it is wide open and everybody just do as they like.”
They also said T&HD needs to change the system of charging by classes for vehicles, so as to “knock out a lot of corruption. They are supposed to charge by weight and not by class anymore.”
Eyesore
They lamented that because of the poor system “passengers would even pope (get in front of others in the line) the boat. Before, they used to purchase the tickets and “remain in the waiting room until they finish loading the vehicles in the boat.”
The waiting area they were referring to was housed in a larger building on the stelling but it has deteriorated and fallen apart.
The old boards from the collapsed building remained at the stelling for a long time and commuters had deemed them an eyesore.
Recently, Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson was at the stelling while on a visit to the Essequibo Coast when residents complained that the boards were breeding grounds for cockroaches and rats.
He then instructed the management to get rid of the boards and some workers and other residents took them home. Reports are that some people were asked to pay a fee of $100 per piece.
The larger building housed offices for the security and other workers and washroom facilities while the lower flat housed a canteen, waiting area, washroom facilities as well as a cargo bond.
The current waiting room, which is located inside the ticket booth is cramped and can only accommodate about 15 to 20 people with their bags, this newspaper was told.
Security cameras
They said security cameras were installed at the stelling and commended T&HD for keeping abreast with technology.
They did not know what direction the cameras were pointing in though and said one should be placed at the scale, which needs to have a “big display monitor for everyone to see the weights of the vehicles.”
The cameras had been out of order though. T&HD had hired someone to fix them but they have stopped working again.
The commuters lamented that “before they keep hiring contractors they should employ someone who has graduated in that field from the University of Guyana, to monitor and maintain the cameras.
Meanwhile, they said garbage bins need to be placed around the stelling, noting that some people would resort to littering while others have been dumping rubbish in barrels on the stelling that contain waste oil.
