Written by VISHNU BANDHU, Businessman
I WRITE to bring to the attention of readers, the Transport & Harbours Department, and the Ministry of Transport the way speedboat operators plying the Supenaam/Parika route normally violate my rights at the Supenaam boarding.  

The discrimination they practise punishes “heavy” passengers. Last Thursday, October 17th, 2013 at 4.20 pm, I was the third person in line waiting to board the speedboat from Supenaam to Parika when the captain told me I could not go on the boat because he already had four other persons who had weight like me. I had arrived at the stelling before the four other persons, but for some reason, he selected which passengers should go on the boat.

I asked him his name and he answered that I could not be talking to him. Then I went to the dispatcher, Mr. Robert (Tibs), and he gave me the name of the boat captain as Mr. Colbert Bay Junior. It is not a first-come-first-served system.

Mr. Robert (Tibs) even told the boat captain that he was wrong to do things like that, but the captain ignored Mr Robert (Tibs).

Because of this kind of discrimination, I had to hire a special boat to take me from Supenaam to Parika, since the captain, Mr. Colbert Bay Junior, said if I go in the boat, the boat would go slower to Parika, and my weight is 230lbs, and he had other people in the boat who weighed more than 230lbs.

When I arrived at Parika with the special-hire boat, I reported the matter to the dispatcher there, Mr. Monitor, and he promised to note my report and arrange for me to speak to Mr. Cortis, the senior dispatcher. I did speak to Mr. Cortis by telephone, and he recommended that I speak to Mr. Steven Thomas in Georgetown. On October 18, I made my complaint to Mr. Steven Thomas in Georgetown, and he promised to look into this matter.

Now, this is not the first time this has happened to me at Supenaam; I experienced this discrimination on two occasions before this one. These speed boat captains know me, and they feel I am having lots of money, so I should be able to hire a special boat to travel in.

I am strongly advocating that the relevant authorities  deal severely with these boat captains. I also would like to ask the relevant authorities to have these boat captains sanitise their life jackets and the tarpaulins they use to cover passengers. I travel frequently to Essequibo and sometimes when I go in these speed boats, put on the life jackets and cover with the tarpaulin, the bad scent that I get from the life jacket and the tarpaulin makes me feel like ‘throwing up’ the contents of my stomach.

I reiterate my appeal to the authorities controlling these speedboats to look into these matters very seriously, and to let the captains and conductors know that they are providing a public service and they must learn to be humble and show respect to passengers, because from this activity they are making their livelihood; and any captain who discriminates against passengers should be suspended or have his licence revoked because he is not fit to work for the public.