Mocha Arcadia residents yesterday blocked the community’s only access road to protest its destruction by heavy duty machinery used for construction in several nearby housing schemes.
The disgruntled residents, who used lantern posts, pieces of wood and old zinc sheets to block several sections of the road, urged repairs and vowed to continue the protest if their demands were not met.
Later, Transport Minister Robeson Benn instructed his engineers to immediately begin patching holes on the access road before apologising to residents for not keeping a promise to repair the road as soon as signs of damage were seen. Residents last evening confirmed that repair works have commenced but said that no major difference in the state of the road had been seen.
Police ranks cleared the road and arrested four men for obstructing the flow of traffic and for disorderly behaviour. They were released from custody yesterday afternoon. Ranks were accused of physically assaulting and pulling their weapons on residents, but a senior police officer on the ground said that this was not true.
When Stabroek News arrived in the community, truck drivers were manoeuvring the many holes on their way out. Many armed ranks were visible as upset residents voiced their concerns at the way things were going.
The road has deteriorated considerably over the last few months, after construction of the housing schemes began. Residents said that several schemes are being built but could not identify the developers.
‘This ain’t fair
to Mocha’
An upset Roxanne Allen told Stabroek News she came out around 8:30 am, insisting that she was on her way to work. She said she was unaware of the plans to block the road until she arrived. She said that her fellow villagers were quietly protesting. “They [were] just stand up talking and they put couple things across,” she said.
She added that the residents’ aim was to block the “big trucks” transporting sand and loam into the area. According to her, police came and instructed the residents to move so that the trucks could pass and assured that no more trucks would be allowed to use the road. “But then we see a whole seta truck coming in with sand,” she said, adding that they then queried from the ranks what was happening.
Allen said that this resulted in residents again blocking the road. At some point, the woman alleged the police “chucked up” persons. She said that she objected but one of the officers continued to assault residents. She said that a female was chucked and a man was kicked.
The 39-year-old woman, who has been living in the village all her life, told this newspaper that residents allowed the trucks to pass with their load.
Allen recalled that about two months ago, Benn visited and said that the road was going to be done. She said that this promise was made after residents blocked the road in protest. She said that the road had been patched but “everything destroy back. This ain’t fair to Mocha residents and this ain’t fair to nobody who coming into Mocha.”
Another resident told this newspaper that when the road gets bad, residents would sometimes go out and fill the holes. “Since housing project going up nobody care about us,” the 19-year-old, who did not want her name mentioned, said. She noted that the road cannot withstand the pressure of the trucks that traverse it on a daily basis. The teen noted that a peaceful protest by residents “turned into an act of violence” and the arrest of several villagers.
She added that villagers are feeling the brunt of the destruction of the road because they have to bear the increased cost to repair their vehicles. In some instances, residents have stopped using their vehicle, this newspaper was told.
The chairman of the community’s Neighbour Democratic Council (NDC) Gregory John told Stabroek News that the heavy police intervention was unnecessary and unfortunate.
John said that villagers are concerned about the trucks that are damaging the road. He noted that there is a sign for a maximum weight of 15 tonnes per truck but trucks with double that weight are using the road and it was this continuing situation that prompted the protest.
“I don’t know what is the reason for all this police coming out,” he said, adding that residents need justice. “I don’t see the reason for the police coming out, harassing and chucking people them, pointing gun at them and then also locking up some of them,” John added.
‘Traffic-able’
Minister Benn later yesterday morning visited the community to speak with the infuriated residents. After listening to some of their concerns, including the non adherence to the weight limit by truck drivers, he instructed one of his engineers to have repair works begin immediately. He also instructed his engineer to employ someone from the village to check on trucks using the access road to ensure that they are sticking to the required weight limit.
He noted that he had previously promised the residents to keep the road “traffic-able” to allow the housing development to continue as well as residents to have reasonable access to their community. “The housing development cannot compromise the safety and comfort of the community and the access to their homes,” he noted.
He noted that ministry officials will have to meet with the contractors on the present situation and find ways to deal with the situation. Asked if money is available for their ongoing repair works, he said that there were discussions about the rate at which the deterioration was unfolding and available funding for it. He said there was a meeting with the Housing Ministry and a commitment was made to keep the road “traffic-able and that is the most important thing.” The Housing Ministry, Stabroek News was told, is preparing a housing scheme near Mocha.
During the meeting, a list of truck numbers was handed over to Minister Benn. These trucks apparently were over the weight limit. Benn said that following the construction of the scheme, the road will be reconstructed to a better state than it was as first, as additional traffic will have to be catered for.
When residents began to complain about how the police treated them, Benn told them that it was against the law to block the road, and he noted that he had repeatedly said if there were a problem, bring it urgently to the Ministry and there would be a response.
