Karuma Bridge closure: Passengers stranded as buses abandon alternative routes

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Karuma town on Monday night when bus operators plying the Kampala-Gulu highway abandoned proposed alternative routes to divert heavy traffic following the closure of the Karuma Bridge.

They said the Kafu-Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach alternative road has introduced additional costs and caused inconvenience to their passengers.

A driver who asked to remain anonymous told this publication that he needs an additional 50 liters of fuel to drive the alternative route, adding that the stretch from Kafu River to Gulu, via Masindi and Pakwach, is about 100 kilometers longer.

“With one liter of diesel I travel between three and four kilometers, depending on the load,” he says.

But our calculation shows that if indeed the alternative route includes an additional distance of 100 kilometres, this particular bus would need 25 liters of fuel worth approximately Sh124,000 to reach Gulu.

The government closed the bridge to trucks, buses and trailers at 6 a.m. Monday. However, security agencies could be seen enforcing heavy traffic diversion directives authorizing vehicles with a minimum of 28 passengers to access other parts of the country through the critical Nile River crossing on the Kampala Expressway. -Gulu.

Consequently, cars classified as heavy were asked to make better use of alternative roads as directed by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).

For example, those sailing via Kampala-Gulu or West Nile were diverted on the Kafu River via Masindi town towards Paraa and exited onto the Pakwach-Karuma road at Tangi Gate.

The alternative route for Lira motorists heading to Kampala is Lira-Dokolo-Soroti-Kumi-Pallisa-Tirinyi-Nakalama via Iganga to Kampala via Jinja or vice versa if coming from the capital Kampala.

Our calculations using Google maps show that diverting traffic between Gulu and Kampala via the Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route would increase the distance by 85 kilometers compared to the 335 kilometer trip between Uganda’s capital and the largest city from northern Uganda.

Bus drivers estimate that the 85 kilometers would require an additional 211 litres, or an additional expenditure of Sh55,000 to fill the tank for the journey.

However, those traveling between the Arua-Pakwach-Kampala route via Paraa and Masindi will heave a sigh of relief as they avoid the longer and bumpier Pakwach-Karuma stretch, potentially saving time and wear and tear on vehicles.

However, theirs has a problem: the road between Tangi and Kichumbanyobo, the north-west and south gates of the Paraa section of Murchison Falls National Park, is about 80 kilometers long, but with a strictly enforced speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour. It means that the trip takes a minimum of two hours even though the road is newly paved.

Violators are fined Sh100,000 at either gate.

Aware of the additional costs and inconveniences involved in traveling on the Gulu-Olwiyo-Pakwach-Kampala route passing through Parra and Masindi, the bus drivers decided to use the shortest route, but most importantly, the one they master best.

Kampala operators heading to Gulu now drive to Karuma town. Upon arrival, they park in the deserted parking lot for trailers and trucks. At this point, passengers and luggage are unloaded before operators hire or use their Toyota Hiace vehicles (taxis) to transport passengers and luggage across the bridge to the checkpoint at the T-junction. Pakwach Road, where passengers need to board. other means to continue your journey.

Upon reaching Kafu, the police tried to persuade Larem Safari, Mega Executive and Makome, among other buses, to use the alternative route, but to no avail, according to their passengers.

“We ended up in Karuma town, where other organized bus companies had to transport passengers and luggage across the bridge in small vehicles,” a traveler who only identified himself as a teacher told our reporter.

He said passengers who were dependent on service providers who did not provide smaller vehicles to ensure the continuation of their journey on the Gulu side were left stranded in Karuma town.

Among them were 65 officials from Gulu district who traveled to Kampala on Sunday night to participate in the verification exercise at the Ministry of Public Services.

“We left Kampala around 3pm on Monday and arrived in Karuma town at 9.30pm. The driver told us that he is not used to the alternative route and that it was too late to drive that longer route. Now we are stranded here with our children,” a passenger, also an employee of the Gulu district, told this publication on Monday night.

Tricks

This publication has learned that for buses heading to Kampala, loading is done from their respective terminals in Gulu and passengers are delivered to the checkpoint at the T-junction, where they have to board light vehicles to cross the bridge to the city of Karuma. Here they board the buses that they have now found close to home, in the deserted parking lot, and leave for Kampala.

Albertina region police spokesman Julius Hakiza had appealed to heavy vehicle drivers to cooperate with authorities and use alternative routes.

“They may see it as an inconvenience, but they have to respect it. There’s nothing to do. We are doing this to protect them from death,” she said.

This publication established during a dialogue between UNRA and transport operators on Sunday that some revolutionary resolutions were reached regarding the closure of the bridge.

In view of the nature of their passengers and the luggage they carry, the operators agreed to use the eastern route via Jinja-Tirinyi-Paliisa-Kumi-Soroti-Lira-Kamdini-Gulu-Elegu.

The operators agreed to use Luwero-Kafu-Masindi or Kigumba-Murchison Falls-Pakwach National Park and then return to Olwiyo and connect to Gulu and then continue as normal. They also agreed to adjust their hours to fit the park’s guidelines (the park operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.).