Pasig River Ferry suspends ops due to hyacinths

The Pasig River Ferry Service has temporarily halted its operations after a swathe of floating water hyacinth covered a huge portion of the river.

According to Oscar Oida’s report on Balitanghali on Tuesday, Irene Navera of the Pasig River Ferry Service central administration said they stopped operations since Saturday.

“Last Saturday pa po natigil ang aming operasyon sa kadahilanan po sa sobrang dami ng water hyacinth,” she said.

“’Yong efficient operation is naapektuhan. ‘Pag ang ating mga bangka ay napuluputan ng water lily,” she added.

Earlier, a crew from the ferry service removed some of the water hyacinth. However, the Pasig River Ferry Service said it is still unsure when it will be able to resume normal operations.

“From June to November, sobrang dami po ang bilis po mag-produce ng water hyacinth during rainy season so hindi po namin kontrolado ‘yon,” Navera said.

During the rainy season, water hyacinth invades a long stretch of the Pasig River.

This floating aquatic plant poses a problem to small vessels using the river as it hampers navigation, and the stems and leaves get entangled in propellers, causing stalling.—AOL, GMA News