Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke-Linden Highway residents are seeking urgent interventions from authorities as they say their community’s deplorable road network and subpar water supply continue to be neglected.
Villagers yesterday highlighted their plight to this newspaper during a visit to the community.
Ray Ferrier, a businessman and poultry farmer who has been residing in the village for past 14 years, told Stabroek News that infrastructure in the community has been and continues to be neglected. “All we have is the demarcation with sand. No loam or anything. We cannot call this a road. This sawdust here we had come together and throw it to make it easier for us to use,” he said before lamenting that “the [sand on the road] is very loose now because we are not having any rains. It is almost impassable for vehicles to come.”
With Kuru Kuru now forming a part of the new Huararuni-Yarrowkabra Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), residents are calling for the Co-operative Society that has been managing the community’s affairs to be dissolved as they do not believe it has been working.
“Since I have moved into the area the Co-op Society has been asking for fees and they are not doing anything,” Ferrier said. “We reached out to them about two months ago and these issues were raised and they say pay the dues and they will look at the road,” he added.
Constituency Councillor of Kuru Kuru Askari Ferrier told this publication that the council has budgeted for works to be undertaken on some of the roads in community. He explained that the road works will be funded from the NDC’s subvention but it is unable to access the money since the authority has yet to set up a bank account.
“We are a new NDC, and it is taking more time. We would have expected to set up the bank account. I realised the residents are suffering, I am part of the community and I am suffering but in terms of the NDC and me being a councillor, my hands are tied because we don’t have the money to take on any work,” he explained.
Another resident, Dharshan Dookram, who has been living in the village for 24 years, related that it is a daily struggle for the villagers.
“Our roads don’t allow you to travel freely. You have to lug your materials and ration to come into this area because taxis don’t want to come in here because they can stick up easily and if they come you have to pay more than $1500,” he said.
Dookram noted that they would be happy if a single road is paved since it would be easier for them to transport their goods.
Mark David, another resident who spoke with Stabroek News, lamented that even his 4×4 pick-up gets stuck in the sandy roads, which also cause damage. “Last week I spent $183,000 to repair my suspension and it is damaged again,” he stated.
Ray Ferrier’s wife noted that some community members pooled their resources and purchase loads of sawdust for the road but with the current dry season, their hard work has come to naught.
“We bought [sawdust] shavings, $5,000 for a load, beg people to help us and some of us did and some didn’t but we put it on the road to make our lives more comfortable,” she said.
She further pointed out that in some instances heavy-duty trucks contributed to the deterioration of the road. She stated that as recent as Sunday she got into an altercation with a truck driver after asking him to use a different route.
“Them big truck coming in and breaking the road that we fixed and when we talk it causes an issue… we are trying but nobody helping us. I tell the man drive another route and he vex with me…,” she stated.
Additionally, she noted that her neighbour had to halt the construction of her house because of the state of the road.
“Look my neighbour building a house there. There is no road to bring in materials and
we hardly have water in this community. This is the weather to build but they cannot do anything because of how this road is,” Mrs Ferrier bemoaned.
Water
The supply of water is also major issue for villagers, who say it is limited to the wee hours of the morning and while Guyana Water Inc (GWI) is aware of the situation, nothing seems to be in train to address the situation.
Mrs Ferrier said that many villagers get up during the wee hours of the morning to fill their storage containers in order to have water for their daily activities. “We have water running at 2 and 3 am, that is when we have to get up and fill up to store for the day. The water system is creek water. Sometimes we have leaves and sticks coming through the tap. We cannot drink that water,” she noted.
She also said that some residents consume water from the creek but those who can afford it buy water. “…They don’t come and check on us… we are Guyanese and we need the people in authority to listen to our concerns and bring us some relief,” she said.
A few other residents pointed out that they are still awaiting connections to GWI’s main as the areas in which they are residing do not have running water.
David told Stabroek News that they would have to frequently purchase water for use. He noted that he pays $4500 for a 450 gallon tank of water. He noted that he has to sacrifice and make the purchase since water is vital to his and his livestock’s survival.
Stabroek News yesterday reached out GWI’s Public Relations Officer Leana Bradshaw, but calls to her phone went to voicemail.
