WESTERN BUREAU:
RESIDENTS OF Logwood and Orange Hill, in Westmoreland, are militant in their bid to draw attention to the deplorable state of the roads in their areas which the residents claim are in their worst ever state.
The Logwood road in Central Westmoreland, which has driven a wedge between the People National Party (PNP) councillor Bernard Vanriel and his own party, is one which has residents hopping mad. They claim that the area, which was dug up more than two years ago to facilitate the laying of pipelines, has been abandoned by officialdom.
"I am disturbed and upset at the way the poor people of Logwood are being treated," said an angry councillor Vanriel, who said he has not been able to get any definitive answers about repairs from either Member of Parliament or the other authorities. "I am ashamed of what is happening. I will have to stop going through there (Logwood)."
Meanwhile, Savanna-La-Mar's Mayor, Councillor Ralph Anglin, told last Thursday's meeting of the Westmoreland Parish Council that he plans to join the fray in a bid to get the road fixed. According to him, he will be making contact with Dr. Fenton Ferguson, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Works, with a view of getting him to allocate the necessary funding.
Regarding the week-long demonstration by residents of Orange Hill over the state of their roads, Mayor Anglin told The Gleaner that he visited the area recently and assured the residents that a decision has been taken to begin repair work shortly. The repairs he said would start with funding from the Parish Infrastructure Development Programme while arrangements continue to secure additional funds from the Inter American Development Bank.
The angry residents, who have been blocking the road on a regular basis within recent weeks, pointed out that the road in the district has not been repaired for over ten years. This they say despite many promises by their Member of Parliament.
"Seriously man, we are tired and fed up," said a spokesman for the residents of the small farming district, which overlooks the town of Darliston. "We have to spend up to a $1,000 to transport our goods to the main road to get to the
market."
