South Ruimveldt Park residents protest deplorable state of Aubrey Barker road

By Shuntel Glasgow

Residents of South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown, protested and blocked the Aubrey Barker Road last  night over its deplorable condition.

Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill says he will meet to discuss the way forward this morning.  About 50 residents staged a protest and called on the Ministry of Public Works to rehabilitate and maintain the road as the development of a new housing scheme at de Endragt  ongoing.

The debris was set alight and this attracted the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the Guyana Police Force.

The Deputy Police Commander of Region 4, Michael Kingston attempted to negotiate with the residents in an effort to have them leave the road. Kingston assured that the Minister of Public Works will visit for a meeting this morning.

Police at the scene last night

Edghill last night announced that he and Collin Croal, Minister of Housing and Water will be meeting with residents of Aubrey Barker Road to listen to their concerns. The meeting will take place at Rosa Street entrance at 6:30am today.

Residents told Stabroek News last evening that while the new housing scheme is under construction, Aubrey Barker Road serves as the main access. They opined that regular maintenance of the road will be more beneficial in the situation since the ongoing development at De Endragt Housing Scheme aback Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, will constantly damage the road until completion. While the road may not be up to standard to facilitate them, the residents said that a makeshift road that is easy to traverse would be useful until the works are completed.

The residents of Rosa Drive, Buttercup Place and beyond insist that they are not against development. They stated collectively, that the deplorable state of the road has cost them much money. Vehicles are faced with mechanical issues as they traverse the road. Laden trucks pose threats to homes as several residents complained about cracked foundations.

The slushy road

Pensioners are forced to walk long distances before being able to get a taxi since the drivers are refusing to come through the road. Initially the drivers had increased the fare but as the road continued to deteriorate, they stopped coming through the road. A concerned resident recounted that his elderly mother fell while trying to negotiate a pothole earlier this week.

While the rainy season is not in full effect, the road is slushy and filled with water. The potholes are huge and rough. Residents reported that many vehicles got stuck while trying to negotiate the road.  Shop owners also saw a significant decline in the support from customers because of the current state of the road. Two shop owners explained to this newspaper that taxi drivers are refusing to transport the goods and they are forced to take a minibus. While taking the minibus might be the only alternative much sacrifice is made to buy groceries in bulk.

The debris that was set afire

Kibwe Copeland, the City Councillor for  the constituency told Stabroek News that it was the second time the road has been blocked because of its deplorable state. Copeland added that Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar visited when the road was blocked in January and promised that the road would be maintained. After Indar’s visit the road was packed with loam and stone and it was deemed as “workable” since residents were able to use it for a short period of time. It then deteriorated again. Copeland said he is hopeful that the ministry remedies the situation.

“Now you can’t use the road to get into Rosa Drive you have to use National Avenue. Residents are frustrated. This is not a protest where residents want to be disorderly, this is a protest where this is an agenda setting. People want to make sure that they ministry and sort the situation out. The trucks have no regards for the road. Some people are complaining about their foundations being cracked.”

At 9:30 last night an excavator operator was deployed to the area to remove the debris and began digging a hole to pave the way for rehabilitation. The operator and team said that they were instructed to add sand and crusher run to the holes. Up to press time the excavator and team were working to restore normalcy.