Teluk Batang Harbor Expands, Homecoming Return To Pontianak Abandoned

Motorboats at Teluk Batang Harbor in West Kalimantan. (Between)

KALBAR - The motor boats available at Teluk Batang Port in West Kalimantan (Kalbar) cannot meet the large backflow of Lebaran 2022 homecoming on Saturday, May 7th. As a result, hundreds of prospective passengers for the Batang-Pontianak KM Bay failed to depart.

"I didn't get a ticket anymore, because the passengers who wanted to go to Pontianak were very crowded, so I chose to return to Sukadana," said Dea, one of the prospective passengers who failed to leave for Pontianak at Teluk Batang Pier, Sunday, May 8.

He explained that the six units of motorized boats provided could not accommodate travelers who would go to Pontianak, West Kalimantan, as a result, there was a lot of accumulation of passengers at Teluk Batang Port, which was dominated by students from North Kayong Regency.

"I plan to go back to Teluk Batang Harbor earlier today so I can get the boat ticket," he said, as reported by Antara.

To overcome this, the local government through the Transportation Service of North Kayong Regency has provided a larger fleet to transport passengers who did not get tickets on Saturday, May 7, yesterday afternoon.

"We are trying now, the fleet is large now, for that I am already at the port location," said Mulyo Hariono, staff for managing transportation facilities at the North Kayong Regency Transportation Service.

His party continues to monitor and inspect and prioritize the safety of departing passengers, both the feasibility of motor boats and the maximum transport capacity of the river transport fleet.

"Before the motorboat departs, our officers check, the main thing is the availability of safety equipment such as life jackets, fire extinguishers, and completeness of floating equipment," he said.