-ministry calls urgent meeting
Queenstown residents raised concerns yesterday after crews dug up grassed parapets and laid sand, while the Ministry of Public Works called an urgent meeting with contractors carrying out road shoulder and alleyway works in Georgetown.
The ministry announced the 4 pm meeting at the Umana Yana two hours before it was scheduled to begin. It was unclear what prompted the meeting. Up to press time, the ministry had issued no statement on it.
Queenstown resident Khadidja Bâ told Kiskadee Watch that the grassed verges were used by schoolchildren, older residents and people walking their dogs. She said the growth of businesses and offices in the neighbourhood should not take precedence over the needs of residents.
“There is no need to expand the shoulders. There is no need to remove the grass. There is no need to destroy the biodiversity,” Bâ said.
She said replacing grass with exposed sand would make the area hotter and questioned how removing soil and vegetation would affect drainage in a neighbourhood that had experienced flooding. She said her criticism was directed at the ministry officials who made the decision, while contractors were carrying out the work they had been hired to do.
Bâ said crews had begun working on streets outside those listed in the notice residents received and that no update had been given.
“Why are they working in Oronoque Street? Nowhere in that letter does it have Oronoque Street,” she said.
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said she preferred the grassed parapet and wanted a fuller explanation of what the ministry planned for the area.
In a Facebook post yesterday afternoon, Nirmala Ramroop-ter Welle expressed concern that trees planted in the area could be removed. She said the trees provided shade and warned that heavy rain could wash sand and gravel into drains. “The grass holds the soil together,” she wrote.
The Georgetown Mayor and City Council said in a Facebook post yesterday that Mayor Alfred Mentore had stressed the need for consultation at the council’s October 26 statutory meeting. He was speaking about the excavation of parapets in Queenstown, Bel Air Park, Campbellville, Lamaha Gardens and other residential areas. The council said residents should have a say in changes to their neighbourhoods and described grassed parapets lined with trees as a longstanding feature of Georgetown’s identity as the Garden City.
In a separate statement yesterday explaining the road shoulder programme, the ministry said earthen verges often became muddy and uneven in wet weather, while the growing number of vehicles had put pressure on parking and road space.
It said crews would excavate and reshape the verges before filling them with compacted crusher-run stone or other suitable aggregate. The finished surface would remain granular. The ministry said parking on suitable shoulders would help keep vehicles out of traffic lanes.
The ministry said some verges had built up above the road surface, preventing rainwater from reaching roadside drains. It said reshaping the shoulders and keeping drainage outlets clear would reduce pooling, while the granular surface would allow water to filter through.
The ministry also urged residents and businesses to clear road reserves of derelict vehicles, unauthorised structures and building materials. It said trees would be planted at suitable locations in a later phase and that the work could support future road widening at selected sites, subject to further assessment and design. Similar works are planned for communities in Regions Two to Six, with work already underway in some areas.
The programme statement did not list the streets covered in Queenstown or address Bâ’s concern about Oronoque Street.
In an October 18 petition, Lamaha Gardens residents asked Public Works Minister Juan Edghill to suspend proposed parapet works along Duncan Street, between the Eastern Highway and Bel Air Road, pending consultation and an independent technical review. Kiskadee Watch reported that residents feared replacing grass with gravel would reduce water absorption, increase runoff and worsen flooding. They said they had yet to receive the engineering justification, cost, detailed scope or maintenance plans for the project.
On October 23 Edghill, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works Madanlall Ramraj and technical officials defended the programme during a Facebook Live presentation. Ministry representatives said the parapets formed part of public road reserves and contractors were expected to explain the work before it began and provide contact details for residents to raise concerns. They said the ministry could proceed on public road reserves without seeking residents’ permission.
That presentation followed an October 18 petition from Lamaha Gardens residents asking Edghill to suspend proposed works along Duncan Street between the Eastern Highway and Bel Air Road. Residents said replacing grass with gravel could reduce water absorption and worsen flooding. They called for consultation and an independent review of the project’s drainage, environmental and safety implications before work proceeded.
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