IN line with the government’s pledge to maintain infrastructure and ensure that all community drains, roadways, and streets are clean, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, recently interacted with members of the various Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), residents, business owners and other stakeholders during a visit to the East Bank of Demerara.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Minister Indar related that his visit was a fruitful one.

He noted that the aim was to bring everyone “on board and up to speed” with the plans and to ensure that the NDC members are included.

“The road is a part of everyone’s NDC, so the members have to play a role in it, and they did. They played a good role in helping to clean up their communities, and I would hope that they will maintain that,” Minister Indar said.

“After meeting and talking with the residents, which includes business owners, I am happy to say that 99 per cent of them were extremely happy. We were all in agreement that the sand and other materials that were obstructing the flow of traffic would have to be moved, and they were able to say where they would like some of the things from the roadways to go.

“Whether it was a trailer that had to be moved or something of that sort, they were very cooperative. I will also like to point out that the approach was a soft one with the residents, and they responded in the same manner,” he told this publication.

Minister Indar added that all the obstacles that were removed from the highway were done in the presence of the owners.

The ones that were moved without consent are those that were “just lying there for years without any knowledge of who they belong to.”

The minister further explained that while clean-up exercises were done throughout the highway, infrastructural works were also done.

“It wasn’t just a clean-up exercise. Yes, we were clearing off the parapets, removing encumbrances, and cleaning the drains, amongst other things, but there were also a lot of infrastructural works that were done as well, such as the paving of the roads.”

Apart from the East Bank of Demerara, Minister Indar said that he accompanied Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday to meet and listen to the concerns of residents on the East Coast of Demerara.

He stated that there was a follow-up meeting on Wednesday that was attended by the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C; the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, and himself.

According to him, the follow-up meeting was held to execute the commitments that the Vice-President had made to the ECD residents.

Additionally, the minister said: “It was an impromptu trip by Vice-President Jagdeo to interact with the residents from the communities, and he asked me to accompany him so that we can deal with some of their issues with the infrastructure and the general enhancement of the community. I can say that we have already executed some of the commitments that the VP has made, and we will be working on the others.”

Finally, Minister Indar also met with some cash crop and livestock farmers at Enmore, ECD.

He listened to their concerns about a number of issues including land development for the Enmore Industrial Zone.

He also paid a visit and inspected the ongoing construction of the $40 million Yarrow Dam roadway, where he said residents will soon enjoy first-time access to a rigid pavement concrete road that stretches 306 metres.

He also inspected the roadworks that are at various stages of completion at C-Field, Sophia, where the government has invested approximately $101 million for nine concrete road projects. These will fix deplorable thoroughfares and improve commute for residents.