KAPIT: People living along the Rajang River upstream from here up to Belaga and Bakun now have to spend about RM250 going through Sungei Asap, Bintulu and Sibu to reach here instead of taking the direct route by express boat which cost only RM30.
Their predicament is caused by the sudden decision of the only express boat operator serving the route to stop operation on June 19.
As there is no road linking the area to here, residents and those working in the area are now forced to take arduous and expensive route to reach here or remain stranded.
Two days after The Borneo Post highlighted the plight of the people there on June 20, the Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) controller William Jinep said the board would arrange for another operator to take over that route.
However, until now the express boat service has not resume prompting Councillor Melai Alang to make an urgent appeal to board to fulfil its promise.
Melai also called on the local elected representatives to help restore the express boat service as the people are facing great hardship without this means of transport.
“The halt of the boat operation has caused immense suffering and inconvenience to people in the Belaga district, right from Punan Bah to Bakun.
“Many of our children are attending school in Kapit. Because there are no express boat services, parents have to spend a lot of money using longboats to send their children from their longhouses to schools or over land by logging truck to reach Nanga Merit. From there, continue the journey down to Kapit”, he said Thursday.
Besides students, teachers, heath care providers and agriculture staff serving in schools, rural health clinics and agriculture stations in the area are also hard hit by the situation.
The supply of essential goods like school rations and diesel to school generators have also been badly affected because many of the schools are not accessible by road from either Kapit or Bintulu.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the officer in charge of SRB station here, Riyung Barau said he was aware that the express boat service from here to Belaga stopped operation on June 19.
“As far as SRB is concerned, there’s no approval and we also don’t know why the boat operator ceased operation.”
The SRB officer in charge of Belaga, Geoffery Berdebu could not be reached for comment.