Anger and frustration boiled over again yesterday along the East Bank Berbice road corridor as trucks transporting sugar workers and belonging to the Guyana Sugar Corporation became stuck in the huge craters along the roadway.
When Stabroek News arrived at the chaotic scene, traffic had ground to a halt and scores of concerned residents and hire car operators as well as the occupants of the estate trucks, the sugar workers, congregated along the worst section of the road— Heathburn— to vent their frustration as calls for a new road were renewed.
Sugar workers said that the trucks became stuck around 05:15 hours.
When contacted yesterday, Region 6 Chairman David Armogan seemed fed up with the situation since the road has been a major concern of his during his tenure as Chairman. He said rehab works should have been started by the Ministry of Works which has taken over the project. Machinery, he said, has arrived in the RDC compound and works should have begun on the road. He promised, though, to have the huge craters on the road filled with crusher run immediately. Kris Jagdeo Construction has been tasked with this two-day contract. Emergency funds— intended to be used on another area of development— had to be sourced and used for the job.
“I don’t know what more to tell the people (of EBB) because my hands are tied and this is [now] strictly a project with the Ministry of Works”. “People [I understand] must become frustrated…I myself am waiting the Ministry to begin the works on the road and to start moving the machinery”.
Alliance For Change’s Lionel Howell arrived to lend support to the angry residents. “I think the residents have that right to protest and to demand action now!” When asked what action the AFC will take to bring ease to the situation, he said, “remember, the Alliance For Change is just a small party within the parliament and we can highlight what is happening to the residents here and to illustrate that the administration does not care!”
One resident said that she needs Minister of Works, Robeson Benn to pay attention, “because look what we living in! We want something better than this…I got eighteen grandchildren going to school here, falling down and going back home, truck throw water on them, cars messing up their skin; how long can we live in this, how long? Nurses gotta pass here; cars break down with them in the holes; somebody die at the hospital; the headmistress late and the school cannot get to open because she gotta pass a road like this”.
One sugar worker voiced his concern and said that the estate trucks will have to traverse the thoroughfare from now until December since the second crop has begun, “so if this road ain’t fix now, it’s heels over heads! This gotta fix now because workers gotta work and this truck gotta pass every single day and when it was Indian Arrival day, them themselves passed here, and Robeson Benn said he will fix the road and he throw bauxite and throw stones and this is the condition”.
Another angry resident urged the government to find some money immediately to fix the road.
Cannot patch
Then Region 6 Vice Chairman, Bhopaul Jhagroo arrived and was swarmed by the media and angry residents. One resident immediately started to air his views. “Ya’ll ain’t get time with EBB”. Jhagroo then responded, “I know from now, a perfect road cannot be done….we have been negotiating a lot of times to get this road properly done and the President himself is trying to make some negotiations with the Ministry of Works to get the adequate funding to get this road done perfectly, but for now, we can only afford this, to do some work as from today, some remedial work”.
He said that crusher run will be placed in the holes “and we cannot do a perfect road now because of the weather conditions”. Jhagroo said that there is money in the region’s coffers for “a part of this road to be done. This road cannot patch; I agree with you, it needs a new road…so for now, as from today, we will do some patchwork until such time when we can get a perfect road”.
He could not say when a new road will begin, even if it will be this year. “I can’t say when; I am hoping it would be as early as possible”. He said the President would be in a better position to say what avenues are being pursued to garner the finances to do the road in a major way.
One resident then questioned, “but why ya’ll wait till today to start this road?” “If this truck was not in here (the hole), ya’ll would have never come here”. “You (Jhagroo) are from here (EBB) and you are not representing the East Bank people them”. Jhagroo begged to differ and said, “that I wish that what everybody call for, I could give them the same time, but because there are circumstances…”
A senior citizen said that the EBB road has not been rehabilitated for over 50 years. “Everybody neglecting this road”. He said that the EBB corridor was once a prestigious, well-made road during the early years in President Forbes Burnham’s time. ”I worked on this road with GuyConstruct and from since Burnham and Hoyte dead, this road done! They ain’t looking after nothing! They doing New Forest road where people don’t live and look how many years people punishing with this road!”
The road was shut down in February after residents and hire car operators blocked the thoroughfare in protest at its condition. The authorities promised a new road in the 2012 Budget. Conflicting reports and promises have been made by the Ministry of Works and government regarding a brand- new EBB road. Remedial works have proven to be insufficient to support a road which is used by several entities located along the EBB corridor including a cement bagging facility, a petrol entity, farmers in Mara, and a road construction company, among others.
Last Wednesday, two cement trucks nearly caused a major accident when they became stuck on the road.
