Bus sheds recently constructed at Belle West, Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara, have come in for scrutiny from residents who say they seem unlikely to provide the necessary shelter from the elements and have also questioned the cost to build them.
One bus shed is situated almost in the middle of Phase One of the scheme at Masjid Street, while the second is located at the junction of Phases One and Two, Belle West.
At the time this newspaper visited, the weather was scorching hot as persons stood along the road awaiting transportation, but no one sought shade at the bus shed. In fact, the shed situated near the mosque in the village is not along the Belle West Road where vehicles traverse, but instead is in Masjid Street.
This newspaper spoke with a resident living in the vicinity of the mosque who said that the narrowness of the shed makes it unsuitable for persons to sit or stand under it as both sun and rain still get in. A bus driver shared the same opinion. “That can’t shade you from the sun and if the rain fall, it nah mek no difference.” He added that he heard that the sheds cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to build.
On January 25th, APNU+AFC Member of Parliament (MP) Ganesh Mahipaul posted a photo of the bus shed at the junction of Phase 1 and 2 Belle West on his Facebook page and stated that it was claimed by Belle West residents that the bus shed was constructed at a cost of $2 million. This caused quite a stir on the social media site. In his first post of the bus shed, Mahipaul showed a structure without anywhere to sit, but by the following day when he posted again, the same bus shed had what looked like to be a bench.
Canal Number Two Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Chairman Yogieraj Das responded on his Facebook page and said that the bus sheds only cost $140,000 and that the project was the NDC’s and not the Civil Defence Commission as the MP had stated.
However, when Das was contacted by this newspaper, he refused to divulge any information about the sheds, except to say that they were incomplete. He stated that information pertaining to the cost of the sheds was nothing he wished to share and would need to consult with the NDC on whether such details could be given to the public.
While Das stated that the project cost $140,000, another resident said that he learnt that it was $140,000 per shed, which he claims is still too much for what was built.
At present Belle West residents are still in the dark about the project as information is unclear regarding the cost and completion of the bus sheds and who was that was contracted for the job.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, when contacted by this publication regarding the project, said that the neither ministry nor the CDC had anything to with the construction of the sheds.
