the boat driver of the ferry from Dhunagiri Ghat to Majuli Island, a unique experience
There is no bridge to Majuli, the island where we are heading. Not yet, but the traces of construction are everywhere, from the construction of a new, much wider road, to the pillars that will support the bridge in the future.
the bridge to Majuli, under construction
But for the time being the only way to cross to Majuli is by ferry. From the bridge pillars we follow a sand track, to what is called the Dhunagiri Ghat. This is the departure place of the ferry, which has just arrived from the other side of the Subansiri river, a tributary to the Brahmaputra.
the road to the ferry departure, not exactly a main road
disembarkation of the arriving ferry, motorbikes first
and then the cars, one by one
I watch in amazement the disembarkation, first of a stream of passengers that carefully negotiate a wooden plank, then of the motorbikes, parked on the roof what is probably the cabin, via another, much steeper, wooden plank, and then the cars, the four of which are parked sideways, and are being driven down to firm ground one by one, after planks have been installed to allow them to get off. Marvelous, this process. Which subsequently is carried out in reverse, to load up the ferry for its return to the other side. Women in the cabin below, men and motorbikes of the corrugated iron roof.
and the boat empty, just befoe it being loaded up again
the top deck, full of motor cycles
the ticket office for the ferry
five minutes later…
and this is how it must look like from outside – although this one much less packed than ours
After which we leave, for Majuli. Where I get off as one of the first, in order to record the disembarkation process for posterity – I suspect that, with the bridge completed in the next year or so, this unique crossing will be discontinued.
next: Majuli
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