President Irfaan Ali has issued a $50 million “presidential grant” to Region Six for works to be done on roads, which the regional administration says are urgently needed.
Sources have confirmed that five roads in Whim Village, Number 71 Village, Lancaster Village, Bloomfield Village, and Fort Ordinance Housing Scheme have been ear-marked for rehabilitation.
“We believe that we need to spread our resources so that every single person in the communities benefits,” Regional Chairman David Armogan yesterday told the residents in Whim Village.
Armogan noted that after being informed of the grant, they immediately began identifying the roads that needed work done, while consulting with residents.
He said that unlike before, asphaltic concrete would be used, which means that the work is likely to take longer to complete, but he assured the residents that they will benefit for years to come.
Regional Vice Chairman Zamal Hussain, who was also present, told residents that this was just the beginning of infrastructural works that would be carried out under the Ali government in the Whim Village and by extension the entire Region Six.
Hussain explained that it was the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha who lobbied the president for the grant after meeting with residents in the region.
He pledged that the regional officials would work “aggressively” to improve the livelihoods of all residents of Region Six.
Minister Mustapha had also promised streetlights to the Whim residents after they had complained to him that they did not have such facilities.
Yesterday the regional officials handed over five streetlights to residents, who explained, that one would be placed in a street traversed by canecutters and other workers and another would be placed close to the area’s mandir. The rest, they said, would be placed in the areas at the back of the village where “bandits does come by.”
The residents also expressed their gratitude to the minister and the regional officials.
