Passengers have to use a narrow wooden plank to get to the jetty.
Passengers manoeuvre across several boats to reach the jetty.
The rise of each step is considerably higher than that of standard stairs.
KAPIT: The Belaga-Baleh jetty is one of the busiest here and also one of the most dangerous.
Many passengers have complained to The Borneo Post about the jetty’s various design flaws.
Among the problems is that each step of the staircase has a rise height of around 11 inches as opposed to the standard seven inches, while the pitch angle is almost 45 degrees, beyond the internationally recommended 33 degrees for public stairs.
The surface of the stairs is also uneven due to wear and tear.
Another issue is the lack of a proper ramp from express boats to the jetty, with passengers having to use a narrow plank to cross over.
When there are several boats berthed, passengers are required to hop from one boat to another to get to the jetty.
This is inconvenient and dangerous, particularly for the elderly, children and those carrying small children.
There have been cases of passengers falling into the river from time to time.
Passengers have called on Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) to seriously look into improving the jetty for safety and to provide better service to rural folk who depend on express boats.
The Belaga-Baleh jetty often serves over 10 trips of express boats daily from Kapit to Baleh and to Nanga Melipis, Pelagus, Punan Bah and Bakun in Belaga along the Rajang River.