Access roads at No. 52/74 in deplorable state

— residents forced to stay at home during rainy season

The poor condition of several access roads within the No. 52/74 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has made it impossible for residents to enjoy the holiday weekend.
These roads have been damaged by tractors that traversed the rice cultivation area and the damage has been exacerbated by the inclement weather. Due to the condition of the roads, many were forced to stay at home.
On resident, Krisondat Dipnarine of Number 64 Village, who is part of the fishing industry, told the Guyana Times that when it rains, there is little or no access to the roads, which are now referred to as dams.
“To do my fishing work, when rain (falls) I can’t work. I got to park up till we get back dry weather again. We complain to the NDC and nobody doing nothing. Even the street drains want to clean, and nobody doing it,” Dipnarine said.
“Tractor man brucking up this dam. We nah get track fuh walk; dis dam so bad is bare mud,” Chris Persaud of Number 59 Village said, as he described the situation in his native Corentyne dialect.
Six families depend on the access road at Number 59 Village, but it has been totally destroyed. One of those residents is 79-year-old Marina Seeram, who revealed that whenever it rains, she cannot get out, due to the state of the street. It rained a few days before Christmas, and continued until Boxing Day.
Former Regional Councillor Gobin Harbhajan, who is also a resident of the area, explained that all of the streets are inaccessible to residential communities.
“It is very hard for them to have access, especially with their vehicles or motorbikes. They have been complaining for a long time. There are councillors who live within the area. They need to look into the interest of the people,” he said.
As such, he is suggesting that a meeting be held with rice farmers, who should be advised not to bring their tractors into the residential areas.
“They could refuel before the residential area and go back, but to bring the tractor out every day, 90 percent of the main dams are damaged,” Harbhajan said.
“We go into the NDC several times to get this dam fixed. They would maintain it, but we can’t walk because the street is extremely bad. If you try to walk with your boots or slippers on, you could slide and get yourself dirty, so you have to take it off and hold it in your hand,” Paul Shean Thomas of Number 60 told Guyana Times.
Harbhajan further revealed that the NDCs collect millions of dollars annually from Central Government to repair those dams.
“It is like throwing the money away. You are going to do (the road) and it last for six months and it is unfair for the residents who live at the back. It is also unfair for anyone who wants to come and visit their family, or if they have a sick and they want to get the person out. The taxi drivers will not come in,” he explained.
Harbhajan is calling on the authorities to allow residents to erect bars across the streets to prevent reactors from getting into those streets.
These cross streets are situated in every village, and are referred to as the Middle Walk. In some villages, the residents have erected cross bars that prevent heavy duty machinery from entering. Those streets are accessible to residents. When large vehicles need to access the streets to provide service to residents, the bars are temporarily removed.