Residents of Canal No. 2 and Belle West on the West Bank of Demerara are complaining about the deplorable state of their access roads.
The roads have gotten worse since last year, said one resident who believes that the deterioration was caused by the heavy-duty trucks that traverse in and out of the village.
Some of the taxi drivers, who are stationed at the head of the Canal No. 2 access road, on Tuesday stated that the condition of the road is hurting their trade. The men told Stabroek News that they are getting a bad name because of refusing to take villagers to certain parts of the community where the road is horrible. The men further explained that the state of the road causes damage to their vehicles which can be quite costly to repair.
One driver who chose not to give his name said that residents came together and lodged complaints with the Neighbourhood Democratic Council. The man criticized the government as he believes that they are responsible for the state of the road. “Bharrat Jagdeo had this country 23 years and he never had the money to look after this road, so he didn’t do it, now this government come and he know he can’t do umm but he bruk umm and leff umm.”
He said the road was good with some minor potholes that could have been filled but contractors came into the community back in January, dug up sections of the road and left it as it is. The taxi drivers expressed frustration as the road was left in that state but roads in other villages like Canal No.1 were completed.
The Belle West Phase Two access road is where most taxi drivers stop and refuse to
take customers beyond that point. One woman, Vanessa (only name given) who was on her way home into Belle West told Stabroek News that she believes the road was improperly done and as residents transport materials into the village to construct their homes the road began to deteriorate. The woman is also concerned for her and other villagers’ security as there are no street lights. Vanessa said “These cars don’t want to go in there so we got to stop out here and walk till down to the back. In the night the taxi don’t want to take you in because they think you want to rob them because we don’t have any street lights and if they take us in they want double fare, it’s very hard.”
