Our expectations are that the local government ministry will intervene in a situation where a construction site now poses a health hazard

Dear Editor,

The last several months have been a thunderous roar of sand trucks, back hoes, sixteen wheel lorries, from six in the morning to late at nights with little reprieve. To make matters worse the size of the front road entrance some 75 feet wide, without fence or gate, allow vehicles to rumble in and out as they please. Persons, pedestrians or vehicular, that are familiar try to avoid it at all cost. Parents and children, to and from the nearby school a village away, have found a safe and easy way in the recently completed “back” street.  What has become worrisome, in fact frightful, is the refusal of the contractor/owner to acknowledge that the four-lot construction site has become a health hazard. He refuses to entertain any discussion that the excessive and continuous sand and cement works, the 14–16 wheelers in and out of the compound should be bothersome or a health hazard to nearby residents.

On two occasions residents were threatened with bodily harm for complaining of dubious/illegal practices. On the first occasion workers on the site readily admitted to the use of Gramoxone, without approval, for the clearing of weeds from the building site – a full four house lots in size.  

According to one report, “the country’s laws governing the use and sale of Gramoxone, deemed a toxic chemical, was listed under a special category for ‘restricted use’”. Moreover, the report went on “It meant that only those with a national identification card could buy the chemical and their names and identification card number are written down by those authorised to sell the chemical”. Needless to say the workers using the chemical were unaware of such regulations and simply blurted out that the chemical was given to them and then told what to do. Notwithstanding, it was hell to pay when the boss’s son found out that someone had the audacity to enter his yard much less speak to the workers without his approval.

How soon we forget! Not so long ago the same chemical, Gramoxone, was at the center of an international catastrophe, 2015-2020, in which the communities of Black Bush Polder and the Upper Corentyne, were deemed the leader of suicide in the world.    

More recently, a second incident occurred, when a resident dared ask the workers on sight if the there was a building plan or code in use. Unfortunately, no one knew or would impart any such information. Promptly informed, the owner was on the construction site before the “intruder” could make his way out. Caught between the arriving pick-up and the construction site the owner let loose a barrage of expletives as the pick–up tore into sand and gravel and sped off.    

Moreover, public complaint has been of little use and most easily begged off “Not my responsibility”. Indeed, it took several weeks before the traffic chief from New Amster-dam intervened and asked that agricultural machinery parked on portions of the public road, in front of the construction site, be eventually removed.     

In due course, the construction site began to take shape consisting of 4 and one half feet – 5 feet foundation, with little or no connection or relation to the lots and houses in the surrounding community – already 4-5 feet high. These neighbourhood houses (south and north of the construction site) are immediately caught in the construction losing most, if not all, of their ventilation and sunlight during the day as well.

We were originally informed that the NDC which presumably gave permission for the construction of the gas station is also responsible for its construction and therefore the details thereof, i.e. its building code and construction. The difficulty now, however, is that the NDC that gave permission to build is no longer the NDC with such authority. After the last local government elections 12th June, 2023, the old local government, Nos. 52-74 NDC, was divided into two local governments, Nos. 52- 63 NDC and Nos. 64 -74 NDC. It remains uncertain, however, who is responsible for what. Despite several phone calls and two written requests to the Nos. 64-74 NDC, 1st Decem-ber, 2024 and again 23rd December, 2024, we are still to hear from anyone, officially or otherwise on the steps to resolve what we believe are serious infractions by the owner/ builder of the gas station. .           

We are writing this letter to the press with the expectation that someone in the local government ministry will read it and inform us on where we go from here, since it would appear that this is not the responsibility of either the old NDC or the new one.

Sincerely,

Indar Hastoo

Ramasankar Hastoo

Rishee Thakur

Chris Shewbarran.

Residents

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