Bali expects to attract 2.1 million tourists next year. However, with expectations comes responsibility and unless public amenities are improved, people may be turned off visiting the island if word-of-mouth travels.
Besides sightseeing, shopping for souvenirs and clothes are popular pastimes for tourists, which takes place on the streets of Kuta, Legian and Ubud. But follow any tourist and sooner or later you will hear them grumble about the uneven pavements and gaping holes into sewers, which could break a few bones of the unsuspecting.
The Bali bombing monument in Kuta is another disaster waiting to happen. Admittedly it is well maintained and clean, but the fact that a narrow section of the steps leading up to the memorial is chained off, prompts people to walk down the ramp to the main street, instead of returning to the stairs barricaded by chains where they should walk.
At first glance, the ramp looks like an access ramp for wheelchairs, but it is so steep that any person attempting to push a wheelchair up the ramp would find it impossible unless the wheelchair topples backwards. Anyone in a wheelchair attempting to exit the site via the ramp would pick up great too much speed and fly onto the street into the path of traffic.
While helping my friend so she could gather her strength before being taken to the hospital, many people approached us. We warned people who were using the ramp of the danger but they did not listen, even though many struggled with the steep decline. Unsurprisingly, there were tales of similar incidents, with one person relating how a child fell down the ramp and cracked open his head.
The nature of the ramp begs the question: What is it for? It could not possibly be for disabled people to use. In the hour I was tending to my friend, umpteen people using the ramp struggled and almost lost their footing.
If the steps must be chained off, presumably to discourage people from sitting on them, then so should the ramp, especially to prevent anyone from falling down and breaking their necks. More thought needs to go into ensuring public safety, especially now there is a public liability law.
The majority of tourists - domestic and foreign - will visit the Kuta bombing monument sooner or later and public safety at such a revered site should be made.
What will it take to implement even footpaths - a high-ranking official's child left a paraplegic? It is very well for palms to rub together in glee at the possibility of many tourist dollars going into Bali, but it is high time that Bali administration took responsibility to ensure basic safety, not only for tourists but also for locals.
Amanda O'Connor
Sanur, Bali
