Fearing for their lives and those of their children, residents in two communities, along the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), are concerned over leaning electrical power poles in the area. The residents, who live at Vriesland and La Retraite, told Guyana Times that they have made repeated reports to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc.
The pole that poses a danger to Vriesland, WBD
They, however, observed that their complaints were being ignored, and expressed that the prolonged situation was a worrying one, as the power lines could snap at any moment which would cause even more danger.
This publication obtained photographs of the leaning power lines at the section of La Retraite that faces the river where five poles are leaning, with some so low that some residents can nearly reach the wooden supports.
“I don’t want no post fall and me get shock. People here want the post fix, but them ain’t bothering with we,” a mother of one explained.
She added that some time last year when the poles were beginning to lean, a GPL crew came and fixed one. Her contention is that they should have rectified the other leaning poles.
Meanwhile, this newspaper also got a photograph of a leaning pole in a yard at Vriesland and residents pointed out that this one has been rotting for a while. It was noted that several houses on a few plots of land are fed from this single pole and according to the occupants, their complaints to GPL were similarly being ignored.
One of five leaning poles in the waterfront area of La Retraite
One sugar worker from the community noted that he and other persons nearby have been making repeated reports to the power company so that it would fix the problem but to no avail. He revealed that the post, which is leaning on the fence of one family’s yard, was reported since November 2017, but the situation remained unchanged. The sugar worker indicated that some time ago, he nailed a board onto the post in an attempt to alleviate the situation.
Other residents told Guyana Times that many children have to traverse the track to attend school, and expressed worry that damage, fire or electrocution could occur if the pole snapped causing the wires to be ripped from the houses.
The residents in both Vriesland and La Retraite are hopeful that the power company can rectify the months-old issue.
