Residents of Area Q, Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara have expressed concern about the future of the playground in their community.
The residents told Stabroek News on Monday that personnel from the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) visited the area recently and were observed inspecting the playground and driving markers into certain parts of it. When enquiries were made regarding their presence in the community, the GL&SC officers reportedly told residents that the area had been earmarked for 12 house lots.
Repeated attempts by Stabroek News to obtain a comment from officials at the GL&SC have proved futile.
A concerned resident noted that the community is relatively young and over the last five years there has been rapid development of its infrastructure. The homeowner said there are 75 house lots in the community (50 homes built and 25 empty lots) with provision for a playground, as this was made on the original structural plan of the area.
According to the residents, within the past year, 20 homes were constructed and the neighbourhood is now almost fully occupied. The residents said they are making a valiant effort to finally develop the playground so that children in the area could have a safe place to play. They said the ground was levelled and chipped, but after the 2005 floods, the entire area was under water and this was a huge setback in the development of the playground.
Recently, a substantial amount of money was expended on works at the playground, including the establishment of an adequate drainage system and the residents also said that work has already begun on the laying of a cricket pitch and a volleyball court. They said a contractor had been paid an advance to construct a play park within the environs of the playground.
Initially, the community housed senior GuySuCo employees who were provided with house lots by the company in the mid-90s in appreciation of their long years of service to the company.
