Roadside shops, derelict vehicles along EBD roadway to be removed today

The Public Works Ministry has announced a campaign that will see the removal of obstructions and encumbrances along the East Bank Demerara Public Road, commencing today. The removal will be in accordance with Section 29 of the Road Act, Cap 51:01 of the Laws of Guyana. Before the campaign commences on Sunday 13, violators and the general public are advised to remove such derelicts.
All items found on Government’s reserve during this campaign will be removed immediately with a recovery cost attached. Among the things to be removed are derelict vehicles or equipment, immovable vehicles, hardware stores, rum shops, bars, builder’s waste, roadside shops, car park, sawmills, cargo container, scrap iron, clay stockpile, sand heap, mobile vending cart, tyre servicing, mud dumps, traffic signs, non-approved signboards, paddy among other objects which may be deemed as an obstruction.

Just recently, Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall posited that a collaborative approach is needed between several Ministries is needed to clear the Corentyne Highway, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) of derelict vehicles.
In Region Six, residents use the road shoulders as a vehicle cemetery on the Corentyne, and authorities have been shirking the blame. The Police and by extension the Home Affairs Ministry have said that the roads belong to the Public Works Ministry, hence, it is that Ministry’s responsibility to have the road shoulders cleared.
The huge number of derelict vehicles left on the shoulders on the Corentyne Highway has been a worrying issue and comes to the fore whenever a road accident occurs as a result of some derelict vehicle. Some hire car owners also leave their unwanted vehicles on the parapet and revisit them only if they need a part while heavy-duty machinery is also discarded by being placed on the road shoulders.
Minister Dharamlall, during a visit to the region, said that no one Ministry is responsible while noting that a collaborative approach must be implemented.
“I don’t think it is the police’s responsibility. I think it has to be a collaborative approach between the Ministry of Public works and the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development with support from the police. I think the onus is on our Ministry to make sure that we clear the road of derelict vehicles or derelict pieces which is a work in hand which will be enhanced next year,” Dharamlall said. (G12)