MOST land line home telephones are back in operation at Sandvoort Village, West Canje, Berbice, following the replacement of outdoor cables that were vandalised just about four weeks ago. Some 1,034 feet of the cable that contains copper, were cut off of poles by vandals on the lonely stretch of road that leads to the remote village and some 60 households were affected.
The Guyana Chronicle learnt that a technical team from Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) went to the area and made an assessment of the damages and began replacing the conduits.
Villagers told this publication that they are grateful for the swift action by the utility company, using its initiative and putting the connections on the taller poles on the opposite side of the road.
One of them, Agnes Levy mentioned that her service was restored as soon as the replacing was done.
“I am grateful for the service because cell phone charges are too high to maintain,” she admitted.
Meanwhile, some other residents are still complaining that their telephones are not working efficiently and they suspect it is due to faults in the outdoor lines.

Rumbling sound
“At times the phone works and, at times, I hear a rumbling sound and there are occasions when I don’t get any tone at all,” lamented Yolan Sinclair.
Doreen Cadogan, a religious elder in the village, remains optimistic that, in due course, the services would return to normalcy, because GT&T personnel continue to do remedial works in the area.
Sandvoort is one of the historic villages in the ‘Ancient County’, where slaves settled after the 1838 Emancipation and many elders in the community have lots of folklore to tell.
With the advancement of technology, it is believed that stories of the village would be made known globally and its history will be fully documented in years to come.