By David Papannah
Residents and hire car drivers of Fyrish, Gibraltar and Number One road on Wednesday afternoon came out at the main entrance to Fyrish and protested over the condition of the road.
Residents said that for far too long the road has been ignored by authorities. A section of the road—from the health care centre down to the last street—was done some time last year. However, other parts of the main access road are in a terrible state.
Residents said the road needs to be looked after urgently because when it rains it is very difficult for school children, teachers, nurses and other workers to get out without their clothing getting dirtied by the water in potholes or mud. The road is used daily by lorries that transport workers to the Albion Estate and the backdam.
One resident, who is a hire car driver, said that because of the road’s condition he spends a lot of money repairing his vehicle. He said the road is a priority because “estate lorries would traverse on the road about 7-8 times per day transporting sugar workers”.
He added that the area has two schools and children have to use that road to get to the schools. Nothing was done to the Fyrish school street road for over 30 years, he added.
“The area is well populated and this is the kinda road they want us to use daily,” he argued. “Potholes are very huge and the trucks are making them larger.”
Lambert, a re-migrant sharing his opinion stated that for the past several years the authorities have been promising to get the road fixed. But they only fixed a part and left the rest. He said crusher run was used to fill some potholes but this did not last very long.
The resident said he had visited the regional chairman’s office to complain about the road and was told that they would look after it. That was some time ago. “Two days ago, I went to the NDC office and meet the overseer and told him about the potholes in front the health centre. He said he would send sand and I have not seen any yet,” he added.
Another resident, Phillip Campbell, noted that the community has a lot of negative factors but the road is the main one. He said he has noticed that the contractors are doing substandard work; roads are incomplete and the types of materials used on the roads are not durable to give enough service. Because of this, the roads deteriorate quickly. He is calling on the authorities to urgently get the road fixed.
Meanwhile, another resident said that with the potholes so big they have to be careful how they use the road. She said many cyclists have been injured after falling off their bicycles because of the potholes. She added that when it is dark no one can walk or ride properly on the road. “It is like we have to shut down the village after dark,” she said. “Sometimes when yuh in the lorry you can think yuh would fall out because the truck only canting on one side,” she added.
Apart from the road, residents raised other issues that need to be addressed in the area. Residents told this newspaper that the drainage system in the community has not been cleaned or dug. The drains are becoming a part of the road, residents noted. Additionally, the community centre ground is in an unclean state, nothing is being done to look after the ground. The young people cannot access the ground properly, one resident noted.
Another resident also raised the issue of street lights in the area stating the place is “jet black” at night and nobody can see where they are going.
However, Mr McLean (only name given) told reporters that the NDC has been making representation for the road for three years now and they were told it is on the agenda. He said the NDC is not responsible for the road. The Ministry of Public Works is responsible for it because it is connected to the Public Road. He also noted that a portion of the road was done and the remainder, which was left to be completed, is now the worst part of the road.
Stabroek News tried to contact Regional Chairman David Armogan but was unable to do so since he was out of office. However, this publication spoke to Regional Vice Chairman Bhopaul Jhagroo who stated the road is on the budget and it should be done during this year. He was unable to say how soon the work would start.
