Dear Editor,
I commend the City Council for the presently sustained cleaning and clearing of Georgetown. However, I also call for clean and clear consultations with responsible citizens. One of your yesterday headlines, “City Hall battling resistors to city beautification exercise”, was about those who continue to litter. But what about those who have certain ideas of beautification?
There is a roadside vendor at the head of East Street opposite Bourda Market of whose right to vend there I personally disapprove, but who must have had the blessings of the City Council to continue his trade there. As far as I could see he improved and beautified the place, planting flowers and small shade trees, and he maintained them properly. To my consternation, they were demolished and cleared up by the City Council workers on Thursday.
I should dearly like to know the rationale.
Parishioners of St. Teresa Roman Catholic Church, at Stone Avenue and Drury Lane in Campbellville, led a major clean-up exercise last year and cleaned up the entire dam and drains on that part of Drury Lane between Stone Avenue and Sheriff Street next to the Church and the Campbellville Government School. We also cleared the road from the consequences of rampant indiscriminate dumping. This was before the former Government’s clean-up campaign. We were happy with that campaign too.
Not wishing to see a reversion to the previous jungle and dumpsite, we are presently keeping the Church half of the dam cleared. We cannot (yet) afford the maintenance of the other half opposite the Campbellville Government School. We were planning the beautification of our half by planting flowers and small shade trees at the beginning of the next rainy season.
I should certainly not like our efforts to be subject to what presently appears to be arbitrary exercises of whim by the City Council. We would in fact be grateful to lose the self-appointed job of maintaining that half of the dam.
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai