Truck drivers who sell sand on the shoulders of the East Bank of Demerara Public Road, outside of the Industrial Site have been relocated by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI).
Spokeswoman for the Ministry Desilon Daniels told Stabroek News that a decision was taken to relocate the vendors, following reports of the trucks being a safety hazard to incoming traffic, and the blowing sand getting into consumable items being manufactured in the vicinity.
The sand vendors will now operate south of National Hardware in Industrial Site, on the road familiarly known as Lysons Road (reference to the former Lyson Knitwear Manufacturing Co.), just west of their recent trading post.
According to Daniels, before the decision was taken to have the sand truck drivers relocated, they were invited to a meeting with the MPI Community Coordinator, Traffic & Safety Manager, the City Engineer Colvern Venture, and the Traffic Chief Dion Moore, where they engaged in discussions.
At the end of the meeting, the truck drivers agreed to the relocation, but raised safety concerns at the new area identified, Daniels noted.
However, in a previous report by this newspaper, the drivers said on Monday morning when they arrived to ply their trade, they were greeted with the sign, “No Parking for Lorries.” The sign had been recently painted on the side of the road and they were not served with any official notice by the relevant authorities.
One operator, Mohamed Ally, had pointed out, that “Everybody does deh off the white line, and everybody does deh off the road. We don’t interfere with traffic, and the big trucks take precautions because they know we does be out here. There was never any accident out here because of us,” he said, indicating that they are not a hindrance to the traffic.
Approximately 50 truckers ply their trade on a regular basis along the roadway.
The drivers were previously situated along Lombard Street, in Georgetown, but they claimed they were removed by police due to the traffic congestion.
