By Yunus S Saliu
Crossing from the historical island of Janjangbureh to Laminkoto or vice versa is suffering and smiling as both residents and visitors to these two communities are not finding it easy to embark and disembark from the local boats while it’s matter of struggling for ferry to dock at any of the landings.
Janjangbureh is an island that boasts of tourism sites with numerous cultural and historical endowments of not just national but international reputation that are attracting international tourists. Yet, it is impossible to imagine that authorities are gradually neglecting it in the hands of residents without care.
The sufferings of residents of Janjangbureh, also known as McCarthy Island, in term of crossing worthwhile, as those who have businesses in Lamin Koto, civil servants and students crossing from both side to each other always in dilemma. Especially, in the morning and good example is that, hardly, these days the Gambia Ports Authority ferry works for limited time or cross to and fro more than three times.
More so, passengers boarding the local boats will step into the water in other to find it easy to enter the boat or go out of the boat to avoid falling inside the river. This makes their shoes, sandal, trousers or uniforms to get soak with water.
With plights of residents, motorists and visitors crossing to and fro Janjangbureh and Lamikoto who faced this daily challenge, it is surprising to see that it is this same dilapidated lalndings those officials of Gambia authorities are using without taking to consideration the risk and danger the landings in both two sides posses to human lives and properties.
The dilapidation conditions of the landings didn’t start of recent but for few years now. They have become metaphors for the areas. Both past and present administrative governors have been using the landings without any knowledge of if they ever make any request to the necessary authorities for its rehabilitation.
