FILL UP: Passengers registering themselves before being allowed to board express boats.
SIBU: Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) intensified checks at the terminal and wharf here as the ‘balik kampung’ crowd starts to swell with Christmas celebrations just days away.
SRB enforcement officers were spotted at every nook and corner of the facilities to ensure skippers complied with safety requirements.
Its chairman Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn had said in a statement that personnel would be deployed to crowded boat terminals in Kuching, Sibu, Kapit, Sarikei and Marudi during the festive holidays from yesterday till school reopens.
At the express boat terminal here yesterday, passengers were seen writing down some particulars before boarding the vessels.
SRB board member Chieng Buong Toon said recently that since July 1 this year, they had made it mandatory for passenger boats to be issued a clearance pass before departures. This was among the measures implemented to prevent overloading.
Based on past observations, Gawai Dayak celebrations recorded higher passenger volume than Christmas.
The upper reaches had the most number of passengers, where the distance between Sibu and Kapit is 126 km. This was because riverine transport remains the chief mode of transportation to the upper reaches of the state. A peek into an express boat saw life jackets easily visible, and they were placed just above the passengers’ heads.
Meanwhile, SRB officers were spotted helping the elderly and children to board the vessels.