Karuma bridge closure: Passengers stranded as buses abandon alternative routes

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in Karuma Town on Monday night as bus operators plying Kampala-Gulu Road abandoned the alternative routes proposed for heavy-traffic diversion following the closure of Karuma Bridge.
 
They said the alternative Kafu-Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach road has introduced additional costs and has caused inconveniences to their passengers.
 
A driver who asked to remain anonymous told this publication that he needs additional 50 litres of fuel to drive on the alternative route, adding that the stretch from River Kafu to Gulu through Masindi to Pakwach is longer by about 100 kilometres.
 
“I cover between three and four kilometres on a litre of diesel, depending on the load,” he said.
 
But our computation shows that if indeed the alternative route has come along with an additional distance of 100 kilometres, this particular bus would top up 25 litres of fuel worth about Shs124,000 to reach Gulu.
 
The government closed the bridge to lorries, buses and trailers as early as 6am on Monday. However, security agencies enforcing the heavy-duty traffic diversion directives could be seen clearing vehicles with a minimum of 28 passengers to access other parts of the country via the critical River Nile crossing on Kampala-Gulu highway.
 
Accordingly, automobiles categorised as heavy-duty were asked to make better use of alternative paths as directed by the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA).
 
For instance, those plying Kampala-Gulu or West Nile were diverted at River Kafu via Masindi town onwards to Paraa and exit onto the Pakwach-Karuma thoroughfare at Tangi gate.
 
The alternative route for motorists from Lira heading to Kampala is Lira-Dokolo-Soroti-Kumi-Pallisa-Tirinyi-Nakalama through Iganga onwards to Kampala via Jinja or vice versa if coming from the capital, Kampala.
 
Our computations using Google maps show that the diversion of traffic between Gulu and Kampala through Masindi-Paraa-Pakwach route would increase the distance by 85 kilometres compared to the 335-kilometre drive between Uganda’s capital and the biggest city in northern Uganda.
 
Bus drivers estimate that the 85 kilometres would require 211 extra litres, or an expenditure of Shs55,000 more to fill the tank for the journey.
 
However, those plying between Arua-Pakwach-Kampala route via Paraa and Masindi will sigh of relief from avoiding the longer and jagged Pakwach-Karuma stretch, potentially saving time and wear and tear to the vehicles.
 
Theirs is, however, a catch: The road between Tangi and Kichumbanyobo, the northwestern and southern gates into Paraa section of Murchison Falls National Park is about 80 kilometres, but a strictly enforced 40-kilometres-per-hour speed limit means the trip takes a minimum of two hours despite the road being newly paved.
 
Violators are fined Shs100,000 at either gate.
 
Aware of the additional costs and inconveniences of driving through the Gulu-Olwiyo-Pakwach-Kampala route via Parra and Masindi, bus drivers decided to use the shorter, but more importantly, the route they have mastered better well.

 
Operators from Kampala heading to Gulu now drive up to Karuma Town. On arrival, they park at the deserted parking yard for trailers and lorries. At this point, passengers and luggage are offloaded before the operators hire or use their Toyota Hiace vehicles (taxis) to transport the passengers and luggage to the other side of the bridge onto the checkpoint at T-Junction off Pakwach Road where passengers have to board other means to continue with their journey.  
 
On arrival at Kafu, police attempted to persuade Larem Safari, Mega Executive and Makome, among other buses, to utilise the alternative route but in vain, according to their passengers.
 
“We ended up in Karuma Town where other organised bus companies had to transport passengers and luggage to cross the bridge using small vehicles,” a traveler who only identified himself as a teacher told our reporter.
 
He said passengers who relied on service providers that did not provide smaller vehicles to ensure continuation of their trip on the Gulu side were left stranded in Karuma Town.
 
Among them were 65 civil servants of Gulu District who had travelled to Kampala on Sunday night to take part in the verification exercise at the Ministry of Public Service.
 
“We left Kampala at 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 already late for him to drive on that longer route. We are now stranded here with our children,” a female passenger, also a staff at Gulu District, told this publication on Monday night.
 
Tricks
 
This publication has learnt 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 onwards to Karuma Town. Here, they board buses that have now found near home at the deserted parking yard and set off to Kampala.
 
Mr Julius Hakiza, the Albertine region police spokesperson, earlier appealed to drivers of heavy-duty vehicles to cooperate with law enforcers and use the alternative routes.
 
“They might look at it as an inconvenience but they have to abide by it. There is nothing to do.  We are doing this to protect them from dying,” he said.
 
This publication established during a dialogue between UNRA and transport operators on Sunday that some game-changing resolutions were arrived at in regards to the closure of the bridge.
 
In view of the nature of their passengers and the luggage they carry, for instance, the operators agreed to use the eastern route through Jinja-Tirinyi-Paliisa-Kumi-Soroti-Lira-Kamdini-Gulu-Elegu
 
The operators agreed to use Luwero-Kafu- Masindi or Kigumba-Murchison Falls National Park- Pakwach then back to Olwiyo and connect to Gulu and then proceed normally. They also agreed to adjust their time tables to fit within the park guidelines (the park operates from 7am to 7pm).