RESIDENTS of Block ‘Z’ Land of Canaan, East Bank Demerara, are pleading with the authorities to fix the main access road to the relatively new residential housing scheme.Residents say the road is virtually impassable. Immediately on turning off the main East Bank thoroughfare, en route to the scheme, one is greeted by huge crater-like potholes and the same obtains as one continues the journey.

Now that it is raining heavily, the water-filled craters spanning the entire width of the road make getting into and out of the scheme a virtual nightmare.
At this point, residents are saying “Enough is enough!” and are calling on the authorities to intervene on their behalf. It’s a risk for motor cars to attempt driving through the floodwaters, they say, with one of the fears being getting stuck.
Parents invariably have to fetch children on their backs to get across, one at a time, until the arduous task is completed.
But more recently, there has been a problem with garbage-disposal, since the garbage trucks are now refusing to venture into the area.
The water distribution mains in the area continue to be seriously threatened, with residents recalling that in the past, a pipe was crushed by a vehicle driving into the area.
One resident who sells chickens is facing the brunt of the hardships, since customers no longer gain access to make purchases and supplies cannot be taken out.
Residents recall that it has been a long time since the roads in the small neighbourhood have been in this condition, with virtually no help from the Neighbourhood authorities, they claim. From time to time they (the residents) would come together and do whatever they could to patch up holes, but now the size of the holes has vastly outgrown what they could manage.
As property owners who have to pay rates and taxes, they feel they deserve a better deal, and are appealing for some measures to be put in place, which would at least bring them some short-term relief, until such time as budgetary expenditure could be undertaken.
This newspaper learnt that there are two sawmilling operations in the area and the damage to the road is caused by trucks constantly going in and out.
Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Dwarka Nauth, explained that major infrastructural work is required to get the road back in shape, but this is beyond the ability of the Council.
He said that as soon as the rainy weather conditions ease, the Council would see what could be done to place some road-building materials to bring about some relief.