Residents pump personal monies into repairing roads in Little Diamond

Tired of waiting on Govt…

— Heavy vehicles now eroding repairs

With heavy hearts and cringing pain, residents of the Little Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD), watch as their precious time and effort coupled with their hard earned cash crumble beneath the weight of machinery owned by corporate giants.
For several months, residents of this developing community have been complaining to the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) about the deplorable conditions of their roads. However, their concerns were seemingly ignored, as nothing was done or promised made of relief for the residents.
After coming to terms with the fact that they were not getting any governmental assistance to fix their roads, they decided to pool their monies and labour together to get the work done.
“It don’t make sense living uncomfortable while you waiting on them to fulfil their duty. Because it’s only we gonna end up suffering anyways,” one resident related to this newspaper.
The roads were in such a deplorable state that vehicles had a tough time traversing without damages. The situation is made worse when it rains with the slushy trail and potholes overflowing with water, making it practically impassable to both vehicles and pedestrians.
During an interview with this newspaper, one resident explained that the villagers would fix the road to a stage where vehicles could travel with some relief.
“It don’t be proper because we don’t have the right materials and so but we fix it up enough so the vehicles could pass,” she explained.
However, she decried that contracting companies would then come into the area with huge vehicles that would quickly reverse their remedial works.
Only recently, a contracting firm with big trucks ventured into the area to conduct repairs on a koker.
“The impact of the trucks on the road, damaged the road we used our personal money to fix.
It is not fair because we aren’t getting any assistance from the government authorities,” she emphasised.
Other residents noted that it is not just contracting companies alone, but other individuals driving heavy vehicles.
The residents are frustrated that they keep pumping monies to repair the roads for their convenience and comfort while outsiders continue to venture in the area with weighty vehicles, damaging the repairs.
Consequently, residents are pleading with the relevant authorities to visit their village and help address the situation.