Cutting down of historic Mabaruma “rubber trees” halted

Following mounting public outcry, Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall on Wednesday told Guyana Times that he has instructed the Mayor and Town Council of Mabaruma and the Regional Administration to halt the cutting down of the century-old “rubber trees” in the Region One (Barima-Waini) township.

During a brief interview with this publication, Minister Dharamlall explained that the cutting down of the historic trees was to facilitate the construction of a road project which was started under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government. He informed that officials in the town related that following a consultation process with residents, it was agreed to have the trees removed.
According to the Minister, he has further instructed the Mayor and Town Council and the Regional Chairman to publish the consultation report and to engage the Public Works Ministry to have the engineers come up with a solution to have the road constructed with the trees intact.
Reports are that the construction of the roadway has already started. The process has not yet reached the Philbert Pierre Avenue where the trees are located. Despite protests from residents, the Mabaruma Mayor and Town Council had informed road users in the town that the tree cutting exercise would begin on Wednesday morning and end around 14:00h. This led to an online petition urging the township’s Mayor and Town Council to reconsider what was described as a “poor decision” of having the trees removed. The original petitioner stated that the trees are iconic and meaningful to Guyanese everywhere, as well as foreign visitors.
More than 3500 persons have already signed the online petition. They say that there is another route to facilitate the desired road expansion without cutting down these trees. (F1)