Olkhon mother waits day for ferry with infant
A resident of Olkhon Island (on Lake Baikal) named Anastasia has been waiting in line for a ferry from the mainland for a day. With her in the car is an 8-month-old baby. She wrote about this in the Telegram chat of Governor Igor Kobzev.
Anastasia said that her family lives permanently on Olkhon. The little child is periodically taken to a hospital in the village of Yelantsy. This is because the island lacks necessary medical equipment, including an ultrasound machine.
«We have been waiting in line with the child for 6 hours, and yesterday we simply could not get through and ended up sleeping in the car at the ferry crossing, because it is impossible to drive away — we would lose our place and have to go to the back of the line,» the woman shared with a journalist from IrCity.
She clarified that yesterday she got in line at 15:30. And she still has not boarded the ferry. So the wait has already lasted over 24 hours. The family tried to board the ferry, but police officers did not let them through.
The woman adds that this has never happened before — for example, last year the longest wait in line was only 3 hours.
«The situation is truly outrageous. It’s good that there is a store where they can heat water and where we can buy some baby food,» she remarked.
The woman emphasized that local residents have repeatedly appealed to the administration, but they were told that the road leading to the ferry crossing is regional, and therefore only the Ministry of Transport of Irkutsk Region can make decisions. Moreover, the administration stated that it had already sent requests to the regional agency about granting priority to local residents, but the Ministry of Transport unfortunately refused, specifying that priority is only given to emergency services.
«The governor has done everything to hurt people — he banned local residents from priority passage, banned the barge from carrying passenger cars, only two ferries are running, and one of them, the «Dorozhnik», is very small. In June, the barge was loading passenger cars, and the queue cleared instantly — it can hold 40–45 cars, but Kobzev banned it, apparently deciding that people should suffer and has done everything to make that happen,» the woman fumed.
This is not the only appeal to the governor. There are several more cries of despair in his chat. For example, Marina shared that she has to travel to Irkutsk for health reasons. She is currently undergoing tests in order to be hospitalized for surgery. To do this, she has to commute to the regional capital every week. She also clarified that her husband is currently serving in the Special Military Operation (SVO).
«This is already a cry of despair. I understand that people are going on vacation. But I just want to get home. If every Russian citizen is not allowed to get home for 6 or more hours, what would that look like? After all, it is possible to accommodate the requests of the local population. There are not so many of us traveling to the mainland and back during the tourist season,» the woman emphasized.
Irina overall thanked the governor «for the order about a single queue at the ferry crossing».
«Now, after leaving the island for the hospital with a fracture, we could not get back to the island. They also did not let through the car of our only pharmacist with medicines, who supplies the island’s only pharmacy with necessary drugs. There are no words!» she declared.
The barge «Mekhanik Bryantsev» is intended only for transporting equipment with materials used in road repairs, as well as trucks and special vehicles.
At the same time, the Prosecutor’s Office of Irkutsk Region also joined the dialogue, explaining what will happen with the organization of priority rights to the crossing for local residents. There too, everything is very uncertain — the authorities are still looking for legal grounds for this.
«Priority passage out of turn for motor vehicles is given to regular transport routes, emergency services, and other special vehicles. The Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure of Irkutsk Region, in cooperation with the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor’s Office, is working out the legal possibility of adopting a draft regulatory act providing priority passage for residents of Olkhon at the ferry crossing,» representatives of the agency noted.
In the governor’s chat, employees of the Ministry of Transport of Irkutsk Region responded to the trapped people. They cited the regional prosecutor’s office explanation:
«Priority passage out of turn for motor vehicles is given to regular transport routes, emergency services, and other special vehicles. Currently, the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure of Irkutsk Region, in cooperation with the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor’s Office, is working out the legal possibility of adopting a draft regulatory act providing priority passage for residents of Olkhon Island at the ferry crossing.»
The Ministry of Transport also clarified that the barge is intended only for transporting equipment with materials used in road repairs, as well as trucks and special vehicles. A third ferry will begin service by the end of the week.
