By MUHAMMED Sailu BAH
It was observed that there was a long queue of vehicles at the entrance of Banjul at the Denton Bridge on the 30th December 2015.
This has hindered the movement of vehicles going in and out of the capital city. At the bridge there was a joint security task force comprising the police, armed soldiers, immigration and PIU officers. Other people were seen in plain clothes standing in the midst of the security personnel. Vehicles were stopped, parked and searched by security personnel. More than a hundred vehicles could be seen queuing. As a result there was great scarcity of transport plying the highways to Banjul. Many commercial drivers were not willing to ply the roads to Banjul because of the long delays.
Many passengers, some of whom have spent hours waiting for transport to go to Banjul decided to cancel their trip to Banjul due to lack of transport and the long delay. A commuter told this reporter that he wanted to go to Banjul for a very important mission but that he had to cancel it because there was no vehicle going to Banjul.
“I was standing at Churchill Town waiting for a vehicle to go to Banjul, I stood there for at least 30 minutes. Later I boarded a taxi to go to Westfield. But I have been waiting here for more than a hour now. I think I must cancel this trip and go back home.
This reporter contacted the Police PRO ASP Lamin Njie by phone to find out why there was tight security. In response ASP Njie told this reporter that the police are embarking on a campaign to check the vehicles with tinted glass without proper clearance from the police and to screen vehicles without number plates. He added that this is a normal police routine to ensure that vehicles meet their requirements.
Asked whether this is in connection to averting another December 30 attack as happened last year, he answered in the negative; and added that this should be no cause for alarm. An attempt to reach the GAF PRO was unsuccessful.
