Authorities in Puranga Sub County in Pader district have drawn guidelines to regulate the use of canoes on Aswa River after a canoe with over 15 passengers’ capsised in Aswa River on Tuesday.
The passengers survived uninjured except for an unidentified one year old boy who was rushed to Lira referral hospital after he was saved from drowning.
There are about seven boats operating on river Aswa which help ferry passengers from Puranga sub County to Lira district, a major business point.
Puranga major bridge collapsed last month after a heavy truck with 560 Bags of Tororo Cement headed for Kitgum district broke it down.
Puranga LC III chairman, Michael Omonya, said the canoe belonged to Richard Adonya, a resident of Magu-Oyere village in Te-ukuru parish, Puranga Sub County.
Omonya said Adonya had loaded 18 passengers in his boat with a capacity of five.
Following the incident, Puranga authorities have established guidelines to regulate the operation of canoes on Aswa River.
Among the guidelines is that all operators will be expected to re-register their boats with Puranga council before they continue operation on the river.
Canoe owners will also be expected to purchase life jackets for their passengers in order to safeguard their lives.
The canoe operators were also told to transport merchandise separately from human beings since merchandise tends to be heavy.
According to the guidelines, all weak boats that have been in operation for more than two years will not be expected to navigate beginning December 1, 2015.
The canoe operators’ committed to the new guidelines but complained about the cost of life jackets.
In his recent campaign in Pader, residents included “collapse of Puranga bridge issue” among key issues for the president to address.
