The main access road to the Region Five farming areas of the Mahaica Creek is currently in poor condition, and complaints are pouring in to the responsible authorities from residents and especially farmers of that community.
The road is presently in such a deplorable state that farmers are having great difficulty attempting to transport their goods and move machinery along it. This has resulted in farmers having to incur additional expense as a result of damages sustained to their vehicles.
A vehicle making its way through a section of the damaged road
When Guyana Times visited the area late last week, the Biaboo section of the road, about eight miles into the Mahaica Creek area, was almost impassable. Speaking with this publication, one farmer said no money is being allocated for the road to be fixed, and this situation is “frustrating for many.”
This publication was told that the road has been in its present deteriorated condition for a number of months now, and residents have made continuous calls for it to be rehabilitated, but to no avail. Moreover, the access dams are also in deplorable condition.
This newspaper was told that, to alleviate their suffering and inconvenience, farmers have had to do rehabilitative work on several access dams that lead from the roads to the fields. One rice farmer assisted with the rehabilitation works done to the dams by loaning his machinery. He said, “Now we, as farmers, are already trying to make ends meet because of the many issues that are facing us; now we have to build dams as well. Is that fair to us? That can never be fair.”
He said the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), responsible for the state of drainage and irrigation in the area, is allegedly responsible for having those dams fixed, but the neglect to farmers continues with the neglect to fix the access road and dams. Another farmer said the MMA has thus far been negligent in its functions, and this issue should be looked into by those in higher authority. The farmer said, “They should have ensured that the dams in the area are fixed so that farmers could have easy access to their fields.” Region 5 Chairman Vickchand Ramphall confirmed that the area is being neglected. He noted that it is time someone in authority seek to assist persons living in those areas.
