A woman and her mother are now suffering from recurring headaches after they were forced to sit in the sun on the floor of the pontoon, MV Hercules, to make the journey between Bartica and Parika route during the Easter Regatta festivities. She has expressed her disappointment in the way senior citizens are treated.
Naomi Caesar of Lot 244 Schoonoord, West Bank Demerara told the Stabroek News on Saturday that it was customary for her and her family to travel from Parika to Bartica and sell food. This year, she, her mother, father, sisters, children, and a family friend, were forced to sit on the pontoon which has left both her and her mother suffering from headaches.
According to Caesar, it was “hell on earth” for her, as her mother got sick while she came down with the flu.
She said that her mother had travelled earlier, on March 28, to Bartica on the pontoon to prepare to sell at the Easter Regatta festivities. However, when Caesar arrived with everyone else in Bartica on Saturday using the ferry, Makouria, she had to take charge of the selling because her mother had become unwell as a result of travelling on the pontoon in the hot sun.
On Tuesday, when everyone was heading back to Parika, Caesar was told by an employee of the Transport and Harbours Department that the Makouria wasn’t available for them to travel back to Parika and she (the employee) would call for the pontoon to take them.
“I had kids with me. Being honest it wasn’t safe to travel on the pontoon … We came down with the pontoon on Tuesday [April 2] and had to sit in the hot sun because the pontoon didn’t had seat,” she related. “Trust me, my heart was in my hands for my kids because normally, we would go close to the end of the ferry and watch all the little islands, and these stuff but instead, I had my kids sitting on bags in a corner because I was scared. My mother and I still have the migraine and headaches. I’m worried about senior citizens. When the water splashed, we got soaked. My sister birth paper was in her bag and when we reached home, when she opened the bag, her clothes, birth paper and everything was wet. They [Transport and Harbours] should bring back the Makouria that we are accustomed to… Something need to be done cause senior citizen sitting on the floor ain’t easy.”
The Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) has since responded to concerns raised in this newspaper’s Thursday, April 4 edition regarding the transportation arrangements for the Bartica-Parika route. A T&HD in its response referenced the issue of passengers’ accommodation after photos were published showing them seated on the floor of the vessel.
It explained that the MV Hercules is a barge-like vessel that was added to the T&HD fleet in December 2023 as a result of a commitment by the government to increase the vehicular and cargo capacities on the Supenaam route, as requested by citizens. The MV Hercules, it stated, has an additional 60 car spaces to supplement the existing capacity offered by other vessels.
It explained that the photos seen were taken on Tuesday, April 2, when the MV Hercules sought to render assistance on the route as it usually does on the Supenaam and Wake-naam routes.
It further disclosed that the online booking showed only 40 passengers slated to travel. However, on that day, scores of people who did not have a booking, showed up to travel on the vessel and as such, had to be accommodated. Unfortunately, nothing could be done at that time about the unusually high number of foot passengers who show-ed up and T&HD express-ed its regrets that it could not offer them better accommodation on that day and sincerely apologised for it.
However, the T&D assured that measures are being put in place to improve the service on that route.
“T&HD had decided earlier that it would construct extra accommodation to boost the comfort of travellers to cater for any sudden increase in foot passengers. This addition to the vessel will be shaded, have adequate seating, canteen, and other facilities. The engineers already have the costs and technical drawings of these additions,” the response said.
Stabroek News had earlier reported that travellers and vehicles who made the journey from Parika to Bartica aboard the ferry, Makouria had faced an unexpected twist when greeted by a pontoon instead.
Photos seen by this newspaper showed travellers sitting on the floor of the pontoon in the blazing hot sun among vehicles.
On his social media page, former mayor of Bartica Gifford Marshall had expressed his
disappointment with the way things were handled given the busy weekend ahead. “The last few weeks I’ve played my part as a resident of my community in sparing no effort to show the world how beautiful our country is and by extension my community,” he wrote.
“In a previous social media post, I encouraged persons to travel by ferry for the Easter Regatta. I even implied that it’s an affordable and comfortable way to travel to and from Bartica.
“I was embarrassingly shocked a few moments ago when a number of passengers reached out to me, sharing images that highlighted stark differences between my Facebook post and the sad reality of passengers travelling on the ferry.
“On behalf of the people presently travelling to Parika, I demand a public apology from Transport and Harbours Department immediately. Further, every passenger should be refunded today on their arrival at Parika.
“Regardless of the challenges or problems being encountered, I personally know that this is not an accurate reflection of who we are. We can and must do better!”
