By Carl Parker
The severe disruption of traffic on the Linden to Lethem road has adversely affected every aspect of life in the Rupununi and there are concerns about a growing shortage of basic food items in the shops and medicines at health centres.
Flour, rice and sugar are being rationed; gasoline is now being sold at Bon Fim at extravagant prices and stranded passengers are depending on the kindness of strangers for survival. Amidst all this, the airline industry is prospering; charging as much as $30,000 for a flight to Ogle.
Recent news of the completion of the road was met with jubilation in the community. Passengers, some of whom have been waiting since last Wednesday to get to Georgetown, were relieved as buses were loaded and set off to the city. Despair soon set in when at a critical junction in the road the bus was met by workmen still trying to fix culverts. Passengers were then informed that they had to walk for at least 12 miles to get to the other side of the damaged section of the road, where they would join another bus to take them to the city.
The walk entails trudging through waist-high water at times, then slippery surfaces, then mud, and more waist-deep water. All of this is done in the broiling sun, which often turns to pouring, blinding rain that stings the face and arms.
There is virtually no shade along this 18-mile Hunt Oil stretch – the most bothersome part of the damaged road. When this newspaper visited one of the bus companies at 3.30 am to witness two buses leaving for the city: men, women and children, some as young as three-years-old were determined to weather all obstacles to get to the city. One determined mother said, “I will fetch my child for 12 miles if I have to,” to get to the city.
Many bus operators were doubtful about a newspaper article claiming that the road was open to traffic. One bus driver posited that it would take at least another week before the road is fully operational, if the weather holds. “We drive on this road every week, so we know what is going on. We know what is supposed to happen, but no one contacted us. The contractor is doing his best, but the weather is messing things up for him. We don’t believe the road can be opened now, it will take another week or so, and that is if the rain stop falling,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents are feeling the squeeze. Shops are now limiting the amount of rations sold to customers, many of whom are now forced to do their shopping in Bon Fim at an increased cost. The fuel situation is precarious and residents are wondering if there is enough diesel in stock to keep the Lethem Power House operating. One resident commented that Lethem is now the land of many ‘Sundays’. “Every day now looks like Sunday. There are hardly any vehicles running on the road. Strange enough, I miss the traffic, even the Brazilian vehicles. The place dead and boring now man,” he said.
At two bus companies this newspaper visited, passengers, mostly Brazilians, waiting to travel could be seen playing dominoes, cards, or just lazing around in an effort to ease the boredom of waiting for things to happen. Some of drivers are appealing to the authorities to allow at least two buses from each service to pass. This, in their view, will lessen the dire conditions and get passengers to the city.
In an unexpected twist, even the health facilities are short on certain drugs. This newspaper understands that the Lethem Hospital and some health centres in the South-Central to South Rupununi are facing this dilemma in the face of a dengue outbreak. This has caused some persons to question government’s commitment to developing the region and various debates were raging on this issue over the weekend.
