The residents who live in the First Bridge Street in the Grove New Housing Scheme are appealing to the authorities for their road to be fixed, since its deplorable state is making life in the community difficult.
After receiving complaints from persons in the area, this newspaper visited the community and spoke with residents. A large section of the road was unpaved and there were several potholes of various sizes. Stabroek News also observed that the few drivers who dared to drive their vehicles along the road did so with extreme caution, with many driving along the road only for a short distance before diverting through one of the side streets. “The taxi drivers don’t want to drive the street, they say that they frighten their vehicles get damaged, so when we come home late at night, we have to walk this long road,” one resident named Anastacia said.
Anastacia has been living in the area for approximately three years now, and she said that the road was always in a bad condition. She added that the real headache begins when it rains, since the road becomes even more difficult and messy to traverse the road. She said that from time to time, persons would come and throw bricks on the road in an attempt to improve its state but opined that it only provided temporary relief. According to the resident, the last time this was done was last year.
Another resident, who said that he was among the first inhabitants in the community, told this newspaper that the entire road was never completely paved. The man, who said that he has been living there since 2003, said that a particular construction company (which he named) was to be blamed for the state of the road. According to him, the company never completed the work they were contracted to do. He said “dey would come spend two hour then disappear without doing proper work.” He said that there was a second company contracted to do another part of the road and they did this well. According to him, all this happened some time in 2007.
Chairman of the Grove/Diamond Neighbour-hood Democratic Council Omar Khan, when asked by this newspaper about the road, pointed out that it was the responsibility of Central Government. He said that the NDC simply did not have enough finances to take responsibility of roads. According to him, Central Government had already intervened to help alleviate the problem but that the road has deteriorated since these efforts were made.
Contrary to what residents said, Khan said that the road was finished some years ago, and that the companies contracted did what they were supposed to do. He, however, opined that the quality of the work originally done on the road was affected by inclement weather.
He said that the current problem with the road was as a result of the large trucks, often hired by persons in the community who are constructing new buildings to carry goods, destroying the road in the process.
He, however, said that the current condition of the road had been reported to Central Government and that he was awaiting a response.