The ferry’s condition is not only a danger to drivers, travelers and business people but most especially referral patients to the region’s main referral hospital – Bansang Hospital, our correspondent says.
The ferry is not only slow but has a big hole in the middle. It is very heavy to pull because it has no machine. Ferry workers and commuters use a rope to pull the ferry to move from one end of the crossing point to the other.
The generator fixed to pull the water out of the ferry goes on and off with the ferry not maintaining balance in the river.
The poor state of the ferry and its slowness has been affecting livelihoods and movement of people of the region for years without any solution by concerned authorities.
Patients on referral from the northern side to Bansang Hospital carried by the ambulance are often carried out of the ambulance and transferred to a peddling boat to cross to the other side of the river because the ferry takes more than an hour to do the 200 meters crossing.
Commuters called on the government to help them immediately remedy the situation in order to save their lives, goods and time.
However, our reporter was threatened by officials on duty when he tried to interview commuters and also take a photo of the ferry. They also threatened to beat him and destroy his property when he published the article.
