MANY residents of Golden Grove, Nabaclis and Haslington, on  East Coast Demerara, have expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the Haslington/Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) in several areas.

But most notably surrounding drainage and irrigation, garbage disposal and maintenance of the backlands.
The complainants lamented that the waterways in their communities are no longer cleaned, resulting in a choked system with heavy infestation of all forms of wildlife within their environs.
Checks by this newspaper over the weekend have substantiated the residents’ claims, as the main waterway was noticeably covered by extremely thick overgrowth and various forms of wild vegetation.
It took several minutes to ascertain that the area was actually a 40 feet wide trench. Mosquito infestation was evident around the section that passes by a nursery school and the Dr. C.C. Nicolson Hospital at Nabaclis.
Residents claimed that the overgrowth and waterways in the vicinity of the nursery school are now infested with crocodiles, anacondas and other wildlife that are continuously posing a danger to children, as well.
One man said he, often, has to battle crocodiles that would regularly emerge from the water into his yard to retrieve chickens that he is rearing. He surmised that the community is worse off than a jungle settlement.
Others talk of regular sightings of snakes, strange insects and more creatures they can hardly identify while blaming their presence on alleged malpractices at the Nabaclis abattoir, which is administered by the NDC.
Some said the slaughter house is almost unregulated, as butchers and cattle rustlers have taken it over, slaughtering animals and disposing of their carcasses and waste in a clearing of the main waterway with impunity.
They charged that the NDC is unresponsive and does not even enforce any garbage disposal or community development policy. They want the Minister of Local Government to look into the functioning of the NDC.
Efforts to solicit a response from the appropriate authority within the NDC administration proved futile.