Dear Editor,
Passing Bourda Market on Wednesday, I witnessed members of the City Constabulary/Police breaking up vendors’ stalls around the environs of that market.
Vendors occupy those stalls during the day, but at that time, the vendors had already packed up and gone home.
Later in the afternoon, a similar exercise was conducted in the environs of the Stabroek Market, and Police vehicles could be seen transporting the stands.
Over the years, I’ve been objecting to vending on the roadside around the market areas, because many started in the corners and eventually manifested to almost half of the road, causing major hindrance to the traffic. While the vendors are a great relief to many, they have been allowed to become lawless because they are not being monitored properly.
However, in my opinion, what the authorities were doing could never be right. The vendors should have been consulted and given a chance to remove themselves, instead of being caused unnecessary expense and being presented with the possibility of being coaxed into creating disturbances.
We are seeing elements lurking around the place just waiting for an excuse to coax people into creating unrest; and authorities should be wary of these actions, and approach situations in a professional manner.
Editor, the authorities had only recently indicated that steps would be taken to remove stalls and abandoned vehicles etc. from the roadside along the East Bank of Demerara. With a number of things happening around the country, I am waiting to see if the authorities would start addressing these issues. So far, I have come up nil, and I’m wondering if those issues would ever be addressed.
There are negative and positive sides to this situation, but the actions of many errant people cause others to feel the squeeze. There are many who abandon their stands and cause them to become safe havens for vagrants, criminals etc. Those abandoned stands also manifest themselves as eyesores to the public, attracting garbage etc.
In some cases, active vending from stalls on the roadways also causes conflicts with neighbours etc. And if those conflicts are not addressed properly, they could cause problems. Presently, there’s an ongoing feud that involves the Police, the NDC and the RDC, but no one seems capable of addressing the situation, even though laws are being broken daily.
One caretaker family started by building a stand in a yard, which they abandoned soon after building a stand on the roadway. Eventually, they constructed another huge stand on the other side of the roadway, on other people’s land. Not satisfied with that, they then put a miniature stand housing plants in front of other people’s land, along with a few chairs. This caused motorists to stop on the roadways or drive and park on the neighbours’ parapets. In addition, they played loud music from the wee hours of the morning until late at nights. Whilst they might be going about making a living, they are causing discomfort to others around.
Finally, Editor, traversing around Vreed-en-Hoop area, old stands and vehicles that were once used for vending could be seen abandoned. That area is very busy, and the accumulation of these eyesores is very disgusting. While the authorities are saying the eyesores would be removed with a fine attached, they should embark on it, so that many having similar intentions would be deterred.
A while back, permission for roadside vending was given only to mobile stalls/stands that had wheels. Eventually, many removed the wheels, making the stands permanent fixtures where they were; or some erected permanent structures. Quite a lot of these stands are positioned in such a way that commuters are forced to walk in traffic, putting themselves in harm’s way.
At Peter’s Hall, there’s a container covering the pavement and the road. That container has been there for quite a number of years, and has not been removed. Will we be seeing a change to this madness?
Sincerely,
Sahadeo Bates
