‘Hit and run’ into GT&T cabinet left 800 without phone service

Telephone service was disrupted to about 800 customers on the lower East Coast as a result of extensive damage done to a GT&T cabinet at the junction of UG Road and the railway embankment.

“GT&T has been unable to ascertain the details of the cause of the damage to the cabinet which houses telephone

The damaged cabinet (GT&T photo)
The damaged cabinet (GT&T photo)

cables but surmise it may have resulted from a ‘hit and run’ accident,” the company said in a press release. The areas affected were Liliendaal, Turkeyen, University Gardens, Sophia and the University of Guyana campus.

Contrary to a report carried in a section of the media, GT&T engineers and security personnel inspected the site of the damaged facility on Saturday May 31. “The damage has been assessed as extensive and will require major civil works,” GT&T said, adding that while the company cannot give a timeframe for when the service will be restored, the engineering review and design for emergency restoration is in progress. According to the statement, the type and extent of the damage to the cabinet is the second such incident in recent months, the other occurred at the junction of Main and Middle streets in March. “We again appeal to the public to report acts of vandalism by calling our confidential hotline number 0908,” GT&T said. “A significant reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of persons involved.”

GT&T also reminds the public that disruption of communication facilities can have a major adverse effect on the security, economic and social life of all citizens.