Some Rahaman’s Park, Greater Georgetown residents are upset over ongoing construction work by businessman Ray Rahaman that has left their main access road littered with dirt and broken bottles, which they say are a hazard.
As a result of construction work being done by Rahaman, owner of Rent-A-Tent, several truckloads of the mixture of dirt and broken glass bottles were placed on the road, which residents, who live behind the Parc Rayne facility, use to travel to the public road. When Stabroek News visited the area yesterday, residents were peeved at the state of the road, while expressing concern at the danger that it poses to children, who usually play on the street.
“They are always on the street playing and these broken bottles are a danger to them. You can’t stop children from playing on the street,” said Pansy Ramsarran, adding that it was almost a week since the waste was placed on the roadway.
“Although we wearing slippers sometimes the [broken] bottles still stick on at the bottom,” another resident added.
During this newspaper’s visit to the area, Rahaman explained that the dirt and the broken bottles were left on the street after his machine broke down. He said that by yesterday afternoon the machine would have been be working and he would begin to clear the street.
Residents also said that after events held at Rahaman’s Parc Rayne venue, left-over food would normally be dumped on open lands through the street. Rahaman, however, said the claim was untrue.
Meanwhile, residents said because of the footpath bridge connecting their street to the public road, they are being denied services. “We don’t have any garbage collection, if someone sick we have to lift them out, if someone dead we have to lift them out we cannot even park our vehicles in the [yard] because of this bridge” Ramsarran said.
Residents also complained that utility poles through the street needed to be replaced as some are rotten and others are leaning. They expressed fear that the poles might collapse at any time and people may get hurt.
The residents said they have made complaints to the power company but were told that unless they have a wider bridge to access the area, the trucks carrying the necessary equipment would not be able to enter.
Residents said they have made calls to City Hall about constructing a wider bridge but never got a positive response. Further, the residents said, they have tried to speak with Rahaman as it relates to having a wider bridge but they were turned down.
Rahaman, however, refuted the claims being made by the residents.
He said that indeed there is the need for a wider bridge and the complaining residents should wait and approach the new mayor.
Meanwhile, city council candidate Mark Benschop, who also visited the area, said that residents should not have to face such disrespect. Benschop added further that for far too long communities have been neglected by those in charge of City Hall.
