Overwinning residents fume as Govt bypasses village in street light project

…say action clear act of discrimination
Residents of Overwinning, Greater New Amsterdam, have expressed concern over what they say is discrimination by the New Amsterdam Mayor and Town Council in its lighting programme. None of the almost 1000 streetlights was placed there while the neighbouring communities are fully illuminated.
The municipality spent $8 million to install the 956 high voltage light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights in the town and on the East Bank of Berbice (EBB). However, while lights were installed at Islington, none were installed at Overwinning, which is a community opposite.
The lights also go three miles beyond and into a similar community, Gay Park. Another community referred to as “Pepper Street” at Heatburn, EBB, which is not a gazetted area, had lights installed.
Most of the residents of “Pepper Street” are known to throw their support behind the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).
At the recent Local Government Elections, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was able to win that constituency for the first time due to the way the people at Overwinning voted.
The lighting project, which commenced in March, has already come to an end and the residents are crying foul.
Kungbehari Persaud, who has been living at Overwinning for the past 55 years, recalled that the town’s Mayor, Winifred Haywood, during the month of April had promised streetlights for all communities.
“The week after Easter they come in Overwinning and checked the post and when I asked him about the lights, they say the lights are finished. I ask them how it finished, and other places get? Glasgow get, Glasgow Housing Scheme get and Overwinning get none. They passed this area and gone to other areas,” he said.
Another resident, Deonarine Sampaul, who has lived all of his 51 years at Overwinning, also expressed his concerns, saying that the project skipped where he lives and continued right through to Edinburgh.
“Why does village cannot have streetlights? The area is very dark. Thieves will pass through here on the go on the cane field dam many nights. When you walk on the street you cannot see where you are going. So, when we will be getting streetlights.”
Dulhari Jagnauth, a pensioner, explained that as far as she can remember, the community has been asking for phone service to be made available; that has never materialised just like the streetlights.
Another pensioner, Ramertie Dhanie, who lives in the second street of the community, said she is very upset.
“Me live in here til me get old until now; we get no streetlight. If thief man come, you can’t do nothing. If you sick in the night, you can’t see a light to come out. This is since I was a lil girl, and now I reach 88, and nothing.”
Former Municipal Councillor Sewdat Singh said the move is politically motivated. According to Singh, he was sitting on the Municipality Council when the lighting project was first proposed and had indicated that a minimum of eleven lights would be adequate for Overwinning.
“Three on the back, three in this street, three at the front, one on the road coming in and one half way. We had put it in writing and after the Local Government Elections, the Deputy Mayor came and put an “L” on some of the utility poles.
Singh related that only two of the utility poles in the community were marked with an “L”.
“The question is, you start from New Amsterdam going to Glasgow, why the lights finished at Glasgow and not Gay Park or somewhere else, why did bypassed Overwinning?”
The Council is, however, claiming that the reason for not installing streetlights at Overwinning is that the area is being powered with electricity at 240 volts. However, the residents say Overwinning has both 240 and 120 voltage.
The rest of the town is powered only by 120-volt electricity.