Wakenaam to get regular ferry service next month

Apr 07, 2013 News

Regular ferry service to Wakenaam is expected to resume possibly early May- at the end of this rice harvesting season. The ‘every other day’ service to the island was temporarily instituted to also satisfy the needs of rice farmers of neighbouring Leguan.
This is according to the Traffic Manager of Transport and Harbours Department, during a brief telephone interview with this publication on Friday.
The Manager said that owing to requests made by farmers of Leguan, the decision was made for the lone ferry, M.V. Malali, which now services both islands to provide the service every other day.
She explained that the department only has one ferry to serve the islands and the destinations of paddy leaving both islands are different. The paddy leaving Leguan goes to Supenaam while Wakenaam farmers send their paddy to Parika.
This arrangement began about two weeks ago. This is around the same time Wakenaam residents complained of the inconvenience. Residents, particularly farmers, complained that the irregularity of the service is causing spoilage of their perishable produces.
He noted that this is a great inconvenience to commuters, particularly farmers, who depend on the ferry to transport their cargo. It was noted that farming is the primary economic activity on the island and the produce is transported to other parts of the country.
According to a resident, no notice was posted at the Wakenaam Stelling informing passengers of a change in schedule.
But, the Traffic Manager said that notices have been placed at the Parika, Supenaam, Wakenaam, Leguan and Adventure Stellings. In addition, a meeting was held at the Parika Stelling to inform residents of the arrangement but only two farmers of Wakenaam attended.
A resident claimed that if indeed the department has an every other day arrangement it is not effective. The man claimed that the ferry left the Wakenaam two Saturdays ago and did not return until last Tuesday.
He said that on Friday the M.V. Makouria arrived at the Stelling instead of the M.V. Malali which is said to have developed mechanical problems. However, residents were able to transport their produce to Parika after several days.
This is not the first time that Wakenaam residents are facing transportation woes. In fact, the first issue with late ferries is now compounded with the unscheduled arrivals. The farmer noted that the ferry usually arrives at Wakenaam at midnight to go to Parika and sometimes at 11:00 am. He said that these timings do not coincide with those of the market and cause great discomfort and fatigue.
According to the Traffic Manager, ferry works according to the tide. If the ferry arrives when the tide is low there is the possibility of the vessel grounding. She noted that the area around the Stelling has not been dredged for a while.

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Wakenaam to get regular ferry service next month

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