The residents of Molsen Creek, Corentyne are pleading with the authorities to fix their main access dam which is presently in a deplorable state.
The residents say that work has never been done on the dam and it has been in that condition since the village came into existence.
Stabroek News recently visited Molsen Creek and noticed that the one-mile road is inaccessible to motor cars, motorcycles and even. While residents pointed out that the road is in the worst state it has ever been due to the heavy showers, they also stressed that when the sun shines there is not much of an improvement, as it is still filled with muddy holes. Residents and even school children dressed in their school attire were seen tracking through the muddy dam barefoot to make it out.
The residents explained that those who own tractors assist their relatives by bringing them out on the tractor trays. However, they said, most people in the village do not own tractors; they would walk through the dam daily despite its deplorable state.
One resident, Rajin Kumar, 53, who has lived in the village his entire life told Stabroek News that over “fifty something” persons reside in the area. “Watch this dam condition; them children got to walk and come out,” he said. “Them big people a walk but them school children a walk and slide, walk and slide and when you na send them a school for two days them a threaten to take them children away from you,” he noted.
He explained that in the village there is a school building, however, he said, “The teacher them na want stay at the back there.” This resulted in the children having to attend schools in other villages. He mentioned however that the David G bus is a major help in transporting the children to their respective schools. He said that parents found it difficult to pay the transportation fare to get their children to and from school, and as such, they are thankful for the donation of the David G bus. This bus was handed over under an initiative by President David Granger.
Kumar also said if the authorities cannot afford to build an entire road for them, they would be satisfied with them just building a “part of the road where abie can walk out from.”
According to Kumar, there is no electricity in the village either, leaving residents to turn to solar panels.
Another resident, Maria Asgarali, 25, a mother of three said, “We got to walk from mud and it hard for the children come out to go to school.”
She said, that despite not having access to proper roads and electricity, she likes living in the area, noting that the village is quite peaceful.
Last week for the first time residents were given access to potable water, as the Guyana Water Incorporated commissioned a water distribution network in the village.
Kumar had told Stabroek News that they would usually “catch rain water in black tanks to cook and drink, and bathe and wash with trench water”. He had also stated that they were very grateful for the potable water.
The residents believe that they have suffered enough.
