Sections of Leguan road deplorable

Almost two years ago, residents on the island of Leguan, Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) thought traversing the island would be made easier since sections of their road were resurfaced with asphalt for the first time, but that hope was short-lived when they realised only about 70 per cent of the island’s road would be upgraded.

Now residents are saying the narrow road is rapidly deteriorating with craters spanning the entire width and to depths of almost two feet in some places. The sections of bad road start after Endeavour Village and run to the back of the island.
One resident, Vidya (only name given), says her children are the ones who suffer the most, since quite often their school clothes and boots are soiled. She has been living on the island for over 17 years.

“When them ready for school them, have to ride in all the mud and them school clothes does nasty and all them boots. I like fuh see if somebody can come in and look at it. Now them get plenty car and tractor does run here and that’s why the road ah bruck up so them got fuh give we better road here, man,” she said.
Vidya is the mother of three children, two of whom attend the East Leguan Primary School in Endeavour, which is some distance away from their Canefield Village home. She said because she has to take care of her youngest, the older two would ride to school and when it rained, the mud would splatter them all over. This causes the teachers to fret about their untidy appearance, hence the reason she believes the road should be fixed as soon as possible.
Another resident, Bharrat Narine told Guyana Times that the road was in need of urgent repairs, but posited that those repairs would be useless unless the issue of the sea defence was addressed.

“This road cannot be fixed unless we do the sea defence because if you do this road is like best you nah do am. When the spring (tide) water come, it run off the (sea)wall clean and bottom it does undermine the land so the road will bruck up. The sea defence got to build first and then build the road. I see them bring some boulders and stone to fix the seawall, but nobody nah tell we nothing,” Narine said.
The man said the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) was silent on those issues and called on the relevant authorities to have them addressed. He noted that with the current effects of climate change and rising sea levels, the integrity of the island must be safeguarded and to do so, they needed proper sea defence mechanisms to withstand the tide.

In the latter part of 2016, the Public Infrastructure Ministry repaired sections of the road within the island but skipped certain parts. It is those parts that the residents are calling for to be repaired. The call is prevalent among taxi drivers and minibus operators, since their vehicles are being damaged, costing thousands of dollars in repairs. (Lakhram Bhagirat)