Causeway super packed with people going to M'sia from S'pore for Deepavali long weekend
People were seen pushing and jostling at the immigration complex.Belmont Lay |
As predicted, the Causeway was jam packed with people on Friday evening, Oct. 21 as large numbers of travellers made their way across the borders between Singapore and Malaysia.
The situation appeared very congested on the Malaysian side, according to multiple videos posted online by Malaysians heading home for the holiday break.
The human jam was so bad people were pushing one another up the escalator to clear customs after making it into Johor Bahru.
The location appeared to be the bus bay platform where commuters alight from the public buses just before making their way to the immigration counters.
Shouting could be heard as at least two uniformed personnel tried to maintain order by demanding people not to push and wait for their turn to go up the escalator -- to little avail.
The video was believed to have been taken about one-and-a-half hours before midnight.
By 7pm
The situation at the Causeway by 7pm on Friday evening was already a harbinger of what is to come.
It was evident that it would be a long night for immigration officers given that large crowds had already formed at dusk.
However, the overall situation in the immigration hall was still orderly with people standing in line quietly for their turn.
By 10pm
At around 10pm, a video of the long line of motorcycles waiting to clear immigration was also shared online.
Even though the designated motorcycle lanes were packed, those riding could still travel forward as the queue appeared to be moving.
By 10:40pm
By 10:40pm, the crowds that arrived in Malaysia to clear immigration appeared more impatient.
Videos shot by a traveller going up an escalator was also put up online.
It corroborated the account as presented by the other video, where the commuter was recording the scene by the side of the escalator as travellers pushed and jostled to go up.
The pair of videos showed the extent of the jam and the overwhelming number of people at the bus bay utilising the stairs and escalator to go up to the second-storey platform.
Another video showed the number of people waiting to get up on the escalator and stairs.
Travel advisory
According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Oct. 19, motorists departing via the land border at Woodlands should take note that some of the automated clearance lanes at the bus halls are currently undergoing replacement and installation works.
They will not be operational from Oct. 16 to Nov. 10, 2022.
At press time on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 4am, vehicular traffic was still heavy at the Causeway in the direction of Johor.
ICA had also announced days earlier that traffic flow through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints is back to approximately 80 per cent of pre-Covid-19 levels, with about 325,000 travellers per day over the weekend of Oct. 14 to 16.
