CAIRO - Several ferry boat mishaps in the past few years have claimed the lives of dozens of Egyptians, yet people say that nothing has been done about the problem. A few days ago, 22 people drowned and four others had a narrow escape, when a bus with 32 passengers on board slipped off a ferryboat in the Beni Sueif Province, about 75 miles south of Cairo. The victims were on their way to visit a cemetery, when the ferry abruptly hit the bank, causing the bus to topple into the river. Ferries are a traditional means of transportation across the Nile in numerous parts of the country, but, regrettably, they have acquired a bad reputation in recent years, because of a series of tragic accidents on the river. After every tragedy, we hear the same old talk about worn-out ferries, operating without a licence and lacking security and safety equipment. These vessels, which carry people, cars and sometimes animals, rarely stick to the prescribed weight limit. The ferries, which transport people across the Nile in the Upper Egyptian Governorate of Assiut, about 300 miles south of Cairo, are no exception: they do not stick to the safety regulations and always carry excess loads. An official there has urged the State authorities to operate modern ferries, in order to safeguard people's lives, adding that, only three months ago, a car plunged into the river and a whole family drowned. “All means of river transportation fail to stick to the recognised navigational standards,” Mohie Nosseir, a member of the Assiut Municipal Council, was quoted by the Arabic daily of el-Shorouk as saying. Nosseir said that one of the many boats that ferries people across the Nile in the city has a capacity of 70 passengers, but, during rush hour, it ferries up to 150 people, not to mention cattle, trucks and carts. He urged stricter monitoring of these ferries. “Most of these ferryboats operate without a licence,” stressed another municipal official, Ghada el-Kadi, blaming the problem on a lack of State control. In other parts of Assiut, the ferryboats are idle, because they've broken down, forcing the public to cross the Nile by small sailing boat. But the future looks better for Assiut, as its new Governor, Ibrahim Hammad, told el-Shorouk that developing the Governorate's ferryboats is his top priority. However, a report issued by the Central Auditing Agency (CAA) in September 2010 says that most of the Nile moorings used by ferryboats in Assiut were not valid, operating for up to 20 years now without a licence. Meanwhile, in the northern Cairo Governorate of el-Qaliubiya, people have been complaining about the poor condition of the ferryboats and calling for better alternatives. In the town of Kafr Shokr, people want a pedestrian bridge to replace the ferry across a branch of the Nile that serves about 2,500 schoolchildren. There are nine ferryboats operating in the Governorate, posing a serious threat to people's lives. However, according to Secretary-General of el-Qaliubiya Governorate Sherif el-Gamasi, all their ferries are strict controlled and regularly inspected. In the meantime, most of the ferryboats operating in Luxor Governorate, about 450 miles south of the capital, have ‘expired', which obviously doesn't augur well for tourism. Following the Beni Sueif accident, authorities in Luxor City are taking urgent safety measures. Luxor Governor Khalid Fouda has asked for comprehensive technical reports to be prepared on the city's public utilities, with the Nile ferries being given priority.
