No casualties as…
AN ELECTRICITY transformer, on a utility pole at Best Village, West Coast Demerara, exploded and burst into flames yesterday morning, sending fiery hot debris on two nearby buildings and severely scorching a mango tree. It happened around 08:30 h, amidst lightning, thunder and a heavy down pour of rain, creating quite a scare in the usually quiet neighbourbood.
Fortunately, no one was hurt due to the fact that the heavy rainfall kept persons indoors, when, usually at that time, children would have been making their way to school, residents said.
However, they said so violent was the explosion that it, literally, rocked buildings in the vicinity, including the maternity ward of West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH).
Debris from the blast went cascading on the roofs of the two buildings at Lots 701 and 702 Best Village, in what sounded like dozens of horses galloping on the housetops, witnesses said.
Some villagers said, on hearing the sounds, they were terrified and confused but, looking through their windows, they saw a huge ball of fire tumbling towards the ground, first becoming entangled in the mango tree and burning it.
A young woman, who lives at Lot 702, related: “I was looking at television and, when this thing exploded, the vision disappeared and everything else operated with electricity stopped functioning. I was really scared.”
She wondered whether her refrigerator and brand new television set were damaged but would have to wait until power is restored before she knows.
The woman, who preferred anonymity, said she, immediately, telephoned a Guyana Power & Light (GPL) number and, minutes later, an emergency crew arrived with linesmen who went to work right away.
The workmen threw sand on oil from the transformer which was still burning and put the fire out but one of them, marvelling over the incident, said that, for the more than 20 years he has been working with the company, he had never witnessed such a violent explosion that severed the transformer from the connections to which it was bolted.
As a result of the explosion, the entire service area, including the WDRH, was left without current.
However, the health institution has a standby generator which was used for sourcing alternative power supply.
Meanwhile, consumers lamenting the development said they had lived in that area for about 12 years without receiving electricity and, now, less than 12 months after the receipt, they are faced with such a problem.
GPL, when contacted, said everything was being done towards a restoration as soon as possible.
And in a somewhat related matter, residents of Best village yesterday again called on the relevant authorities to install at least a few street lights in the area along the lonely and dangerous Best Road.
Scores of persons are being robbed with impunity on a regular basis as they traverse the highly dangerous stretch of road that extends – from the West Demerara Regional Hospital – west into Best Village.
This stretch of road is highly-dangerous and, coupled with no street-light, creates a haven for bandits, who hide in the bushes alongside the road, then pounce on vulnerable victims.
This newspaper, over the past year, has carried several articles on the plight faced by residents of this seemingly ‘under siege’ village that is ironically-named ‘Best Village’ – a complete misnomer, given the extant dynamics that are creating a hell out of what was once a haven.
Residents tell horror stories of instances of brutal assault and robbery on the lonely stretch of road where the victims are sometimes beaten and left to die, of vehicular damage and theft, and of home invasions.
And in the wake of numerous appeals in the past for street lights, many residents have virtually ‘given- up hope’ of ever getting street lights in the area. Some, however, are still optimistic. (Shirley Thomas)