The Washer Pond is creeping closer to the road

Dear Editor,

I made my first overseas trip to the island of Antigua during the month of April. My stay there was short, but during that period I made some interesting observations. I’m not one of those Guyanese who would criticize my country in a foreign land, but criticism is necessary at home in order to bring about a change of attitude.

In Antigua, there is an established bus terminal where there is no pulling and tugging of passengers‘ bags or their children, no conductors or touts. In Guyana conducting and touting is a form of employment, but it should be done in a more civilized and orderly manner.

In Antigua the roads are busy with vehicular and pedestrian traffic and are properly constructed with bitumen, unlike the roads in Linden, which were quite recently constructed with black oil and bricks and most of which have already been broken up or eaten away at the edges due to running water from rainfall. In addition, the newly constructed hollow-block drains are all filled with sand or broken up because they were constructed below the sand level. From time to time, especially when it rains, water washes over the edges onto the roads causing those poorly constructed little bridges to collapse or be broken which adds to the many problems we already have.

I didn’t see any garbage pile-up in Antigua, and that also is a plus for its citizens and administrators. In Guyana politics, politicians and greedy business people are creating havoc with our existence. There’s an old saying, “When elephants fight only the grass perishes.“

A few months ago, I wrote a letter which was published in the Stabroek News titled, ‘The bauxite washer pond is not maintained.‘ I indicated that owing to the non-maintenance of the washer pond, the Hymara and the Cockatara creeks are filled with bauxite waste, and should this situation continues, Retrieve, the Cockatara area and the Kara Kara Housing Scheme could experience flooding if it rains continuously. During the heavy rainfall a few weeks ago homes and businesses were flooded, creating confusion and panic among residents. Not long after the digging of the Cockatara Creek (not the Kara Kara Creek) began, there were also repairs to the Northgate culvert which were long overdue. It seems our leaders and administrators in Linden and Guyana as a whole can or will only operate when the worst occurs. Let us give some attention to the Washer Pond which is extending and getting closer to the Washer Pond road.

Citizens of Linden, we already have a dirty road filled with bauxite waste. Let us not have another. It‘s time to let our voices be heard all over Guyana.

Yours faithfully,
B Winslow Parris