As City Hall moves to temporarily relocate the Stabroek Market Wharf vendors to the Route 42 Bus Park, Town Clerk Royston King on Tuesday said that the historic stone sections in the area would remain intact and in some cases, would be restored. This restoration comes as Georgetown celebrates its 175th anniversary.
The relocation was seen as necessary as the vendors on the wharf have been plying their trade in unsafe and deteriorating conditions for quite some time now. However, the city is waiting on the Public Infrastructure Ministry to restore the
Sections of the deteriorating Stabroek Market Wharf (file photos)
structure that extends into the Demerara River.
The budget for the complete refurbishing of the Wharf was pegged at some $400 million.
King had earlier announced that the vendors would be moved to two city-owned locations. In the meantime, the vendors, for the foreseeable future, will be selling in the space where the displaced Route 42 buses were stationed. The drivers are now parking on Bugle Street.
In the Stabroek area lie several sections of the stones called setts, which were popular in the 1800s. Setts are often referred to as “cobbles”, although a sett is distinct from a cobblestone in that it is quarried or worked to a regular shape, whereas the latter is generally a small, naturally-rounded rock. However, much of the historic stone covered up or replaced by asphalt and concrete pavements in the older parts of the city. According to King, the remaining stone sections at Stabroek will remain. He added that further damage to the area in the relocation process would not be allowed. King told Guyana Times that the already damaged 19th century stones would soon
A section of the setts, often referred to as “cobbles”, at Stabroek, Georgetown which require some preservation (Dexter Ceres photo)
be restored. It is expected that the vendors could be moved to the Minibus Park in three weeks’ time, but the city wants to rehabilitate several sections first.
Georgetown will next Sunday commence City Week whereby the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) will host a series of activities to commemorate Georgetown’s 175th Anniversary. The activities planned include an arts and craft exhibition on Main Street, a health fair, cocktail reception and a beachfront party at the Guyana Marriott Hotel. Stabroek was the colony’s capital before it was merged with surrounding sections and renamed Georgetown in 1812. (Shemuel Fanfair)
