Dear Editor,
A few days ago, I had the misfortune of taking a trip to Bartica. I feel sympathy for the citizens who must do this regularly. Starting with the Stelling, it is a risk walking on it. One can see gaps and gaps where, if you are not careful, your feet will slip in, causing a twisted ankle or broken bone. There are also prominent loose boards which can cause other bodily harm. I am completely baffled that a country that is given the moniker “Land of Many Waters” has the worst river transport system. As a person of the female gender, elderly, or a person with disabilities, there is no dignified way of getting on a boat. Sometimes you must be bodily lifted by strange sweaty men. It is unbelievable that our Ministry of Public Works is unaware of the humiliation women, children and the elderly suffer simply getting on and off boats.
In the more than a century that we have had a boat transportation system, a gracious and practical structure of getting on and off the stelling to the boats couldn’t be developed? Incidentally, what pertains at Parika is an improvement of what happens at Stabroek stelling. Lastly, the boats. The majority are simply filthy. There is no other word to describe them. Many also look unfit for operations. There is no display of a fitness certificate or a license to operate. So, the commuter must assume that the boats are licensed and fit for operations. The two that I attempted to use were filthy inside as well, with life jackets that were dirty (I was told that I should bring my own if I wanted a clean one). Regarding life jackets, there is no way the ones that are being used would pass an inspection test anywhere else as being appropriate (satisfy the standards for life jackets).
So, it basically provides a false sense of security. Are these boats insured? What happens if you get into an accident? To think that daily, hundreds of our citizens suffer these indignities whilst commuting. On another note, with all that I have mentioned and garbage piling up on the sides of the river, a man is asking you for your name before you can board the boats. I have previously queried why this was so and given some airy-fairy explanation. I did what I had done before, giving him the name of a famous film star.
Sincerely,
(Name and Address Provided)