-unruly patrons stay on past closing hour, no enforcement by police
By Subhana Shiwmangal
The bar which has been at the centre of reports over noise nuisance in Leonora was earlier this year found to be in breach of the building code and its unruly patrons stay past the closing hour and there is no enforcement by the police.
These are some of the findings of the Stewartville/Cornelia Ida Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) to which complaints had been lodged.
In an interview with the Sunday Stabroek on Thursday, the NDC Overseer, Savitri Gopaul stated that following a complaint by Jai Lall earlier this year, the NDC’s investigation found that the bar was an enclosed structure which limited the noise. However, fights and use of inappropriate language were regular occurrences among patrons who would emerge between 02:00-03:00hrs. Gopaul said this is where the police are needed to enforce the law. Gopaul added that the investigation revealed that the bar owner/s had committed breaches of the building code.
According to Gopaul, the NDC gave approval for the bar to operate within a residential area of Leonora about 8-9 years ago. Then, according to Gopaul, the permit was allowed since the structure for the bar was “small”. However, the investigation earlier this year found that the structure had been extended beyond what was acceptable by law. Gopaul noted that no approval was given for the extension.
“We did not recommend that plan, the bar was small before and they (the owner) do over the place and bring in the plan to the NDC and, our end of the NDC did not approve that plan due to the building breaching of boundaries. When the plan was collected by the owner to carry in to Central Housing & Planning Authority [CHPA] for the approval, I can’t say if Housing give approval for the extension or the bar had a licence before from Central Housing, but we did not give approval for the extension”, she said.
Gopaul further relayed that the NDC wrote the CHPA on the matter and submitted copies to the Guyana Revenue Authority [GRA] for the licence to be revoked.
Gopaul added, “The bar is in a residential area which comes under CHPA; also Central Housing gives approval for all businesses.” To date, she says, the NDC has not received a response to the letters submitted. She noted that Lall is also a recipient of both letters sent by the NDC to CH&PA and GRA.
Meanwhile, the NDC chairman, Sheik Samad told the Sunday Stabroek that he couldn’t recall exactly when the complaint was made by Lall but what he understands so far is the problem is not the bar per se but the patrons who congregate after the closing hour
Videos seen by this newspaper show patrons outside the bar after the closing hour. One was seen urinating opposite the bar. Another video captured loud and raucous talk by the patrons, noise from motorcycles and the street was encumbered by vehicles on both sides.
When the Sunday Stabroek reached out to the Chairman of Region Three, Inshan Ayube he said that he had not received any briefing from the police. He asked for some time to check with the police for a response in the matter.
In a letter in Wednesday’s Stabroek News, Lall said that the previous Sunday, patrons had emerged from the bar after 04:00 am – the day of the reopening of schools – and had congregated around a food stall and “loud music, lewd conversation and thunderous laughter in their drunken state, their lawless behaviours left nothing for a naked imagination.” Lall went on to highlight that a resident who apparently admonished the revelers for their behaviour was subjected to a “barrage of curses, insults and threats to his life and property.” This particular episode ended with the resident’s house pelted with bottles.
Lall’s letter went on to describe the ineffectiveness of the Guyana Police Force who made feeble attempts to respond to the complaints which left the complainant even more frustrated. Lall’s letter ended with a call for help.
