Dozens of volunteers were yesterday part of a clean-up campaign that cleared drains along Regent Street of a build-up of sand and garbage which was thwarting the free flow of water.
Citizens gathered at City Hall at 8:00 am where they organised themselves into seven teams which were then assigned to different sections along Regent Street. The volunteers were also complemented by some of the workers from the City Council.
The workers loaded bags of sand which they heaped along the road and which were subsequently picked up by a garbage truck.
Mayor Hamilton Green also paid a visit during the clean-up exercise where he interacted with volunteers and listened to recommendations which they were making for a more efficient drainage system.
He expressed gratitude for the work the volunteers were doing and noted that it is part of their civic pride and consciousness which is driving them to carry out the work.
From his observation, Green said that the manholes were too far apart and this was preventing workers from accessing silt which had built up underneath the concreted unblocked approaches.
The mayor plans to have a meeting with all the store owners along Regent Street tomorrow to have further talks in relation to maintaining the cleanliness of the City.
“My position is we will have no compromise and anything done or structure erected or activities that compromise our very fragile drainage system will not be tolerated,” said Green.
Other concerns volunteers were heard raising was the locking and bolting down of some of the covers which was preventing workers from accessing them. One of the workers told the Mayor that some of the covers were even chained and attempts were made to break the locks so that the drains could be accessed for cleaning. However, the workers did not manage to break all the locks. Most of the areas which had locks were in front of Chinese businesses, the worker said.
After the drainage problem is addressed with the efforts of the citizens, the mayor said that there should not be flooding after rainfall.
Sandra Peters, who is also a vendor on Regent Street was armed with a shovel and when Stabroek News met her at about 11:00 am in Bourda, she was soaked in sweat as she withstood the morning sun digging out heaps of black sand from a drain.
It is the second time that Peters is part of a voluntary clean-up effort and she is enthusiastic about the move, as she has had first-hand experience of the countless floods which have plagued the City over the years.
The vendor was part of a team of five persons which started cleaning from Wellington Street and had reached Bourda.
Syeada Manbodh, who said that she has a passion for rescuing strayed animals was also part of a group that was cleaning. “This is our City and we have to keep it clean…all citizens need to be responsible,” Manbodh stressed as she beseeched that the Council place greater emphasis on the imposing of fines for persons who are found guilty of littering.
Sharing similar concerns was Barbara Narine from Narine’s Bakery. Geared with her gloves Narine worked through the morning without any breakfast. She expressed satisfaction at the work which is being done but noted that more citizens should be encouraged to contribute to the effort.
Brian Allen who once worked with the City in the Engineering Department was also busy at work. He believes that more manholes are needed along the unblocked approaches.
Supervising one of the groups was Malcolm De Freitas. De Freitas said that his group started working at 8:10 am and began cleaning from King Street. Although the group initially started with six persons, De Freitas sad that it ended up with about twenty five to thirty persons. He applauded the turnout but noted that tools were limited.
Many other volunteers who spoke with Stabroek News were happy to contribute to the cleaning the City. “When you stand and look back at the finished work, you get a sense of pride as a Guyanese,” Clarissa said while she called on the businesses community to make a more significant contribution towards the transformation of the City.
