Despite the La Parfaite Harmonie access road being repaired over the weekend, residents say there is a need for more works to be done.
Driver Ramesh Etwaru, who frequently uses the road, commended the Ministry of Communities for addressing the faults and applying patch work, but added that in the long run the repairs are not going to be enough.
“You can see for yourself. Two weeks from now or so, come back here and you will see how all the holes come back. Come when it raining and you will see how all the water collects in different places and how drivers does have to be in the opposite lane sometimes just to avoid those things,” Etwaru added.
“Only the other day that road was in a state and a half. It had holes all over, all over. Small holes, big holes, deep holes, all sorts of holes. And it’s not just the holes, there are structural faults and drops in the road that are very noticeable. When the rain falls all the water collects in different areas which are very dangerous to drivers on the road,” he added.
When Stabroek News examined the road on Monday, there were signs of the recent repairs. All of the holes along the road were patched. However, there were noticeable indentations throughout the entire section of the road. There was also a section of the road shoulder that has started eroding and a large hole that has formed has seen water seeping underneath the road, which residents say can affect its structural integrity.
In addition to the La Parfaite Harmonie access road, residents say they rue having to use the roads in their community and that the other access road at Bagotville, West Bank Demerara, is also in a deplorable condition.
When Stabroek News visited the community, a majority of the roads had large and almost impassable potholes that made it very difficult for vehicles of all types to pass. “Well, what can we say about these roads? They deh like this fuh so long that we forget how they used to look like originally. They are terrible, terrible. When the rain fall is the worst ’cause all the holes does full up and you can’t even tell if is a lake or pool or the road,” a resident explained.
The man added that it is often very difficult to find taxi drivers that are willing to use the deplorable roads and if they are willing, they often charge extra.
“When you driving your car or riding a bicycle you does got to be real careful because one drop in these holes and you could damage something in your car or bike. I see one youth man riding through a night on he bicycle and he drop in the hole and fall off he bicycle,” Denzel Smith, another resident, said.
Smith explained that it was unacceptable for a scheme of La Parfaite Harmonie’s size to still have such “medieval” roads.
“Thousands of people live in this place. Is one of the largest scheme, if not the largest. So tell me how you could have the people here using these bad, bad roads?” Smith questioned, while pointing out that the Bagotville road is also in a deplorable condition.
“The roads at the two entrances are bad. The roads inside the scheme are bad. We between a rock and a hard place,” he added.
