By Nicosia Smith
It’s a community that is just a couple miles away from modern amenities like mobile communication, internet access and television networks, yet the town of Ituni, 36 miles from Linden, remains far removed from such basics of modern community living.
Lamenting the state of the community, businessman Cedric Murphy described it as, “down to earth… it is a community that needs a lot of development.”
Stabroek News visited the former bauxite mining district last week and spoke with the residents.
Murphy said, “we live in hell,” explaining that Ituni receives eight hours per day of electricity (6pm-2am), and untreated creek water provided by the Guyana Water Authority (GWI) that comes sometimes for just one hour in the morning. And residents must dig a hole in the sand and position a container to catch the water because the water pressure is so low. Now that the dry season is on, some residents in this community of 1,500 are forced to travel miles for water to drink.