Ministry commences work on deplorable Victoria road following protest

By Bibi Khatoon

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has begun rehabilitating the Victoria main access road on the East Coast of Demerara, following a protest by residents over its deplorable state last week.

News Room reported on Thursday (September 21, 2017) that scores of residents, along with taxi drivers took to the streets over the deplorable state of the access road which they said has not been fixed for the past 23 years.

During a visit to the location on Saturday (September 23, 2017), it was observed that workers from the Ministry commenced recapping the road. The workers related that while the first half of the road was completed within days, the second half will take approximately two weeks given its current state.

News Room also spoke to the residents. who expressed gratitude for the timely response from the Ministry.

Hilda Barnwell, a shopkeeper who last week related that the holes in the road led to her falling and damaging the ligament on her left knee, said “I am so happy.”

A proprietor in the village, who is commonly known as ‘Uncle Frank’, questioned whether the road will last for a long time but said “for now, we’ll bless for what we getting.” Others are of the view that even if the road is temporarily recapped, it is better than the way it was.

Another resident, Richard Adams, told News Room, “I glad that I come and see that the road do because the road went very bad. I feel thankful about the road and everything.”

Taxi drivers had stated that it takes some 30 minutes to drop passengers at the end of the road given its condition. They also said it contributed to various car troubles which led them to spending huge sums of money on repairing and maintaining their cars.