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Take a walk City officials…Illegal rum shop and open toilet behind Stabroek cafeteria
Abiola Fung is a pleasant and enterprising woman who runs a cafeteria in the Stabroek area, opposite the Timehri Bus Park.
But every day, before she opens her business, Mrs. Fung has to complete a truly unpleasant ritual.
Armed with a large bottle of disinfectant, Mrs. Fung ventures behind her shop to hose away refuse, urine and human feces, deposited by ‘junkies’ and patrons of an illegal rum shop near her premises.
She said that when she arrives in the morning the stench emanating from behind her business is intolerable.
She added that to date, she has spent almost $200 000 in acquiring detergents to clean the area behind her business every day.
Kaieteur News confirmed that patrons of a stall vendor, who illegally sells alcohol by night, have turned the areas behind Mrs. Fung’s cafeteria into a makeshift toilet.
It is believed that some persons also use the area as ‘ready-made hotel rooms’, since used condoms have been found in the area as well.
One of the shops where individuals reportedly gather at night to consume alcohol that is illegally sold
Footage from a CCTV Camera fitted on the woman’s business have recorded men and women urinating behind the shop in full view of the public, while several junkies have been caught on camera defecating as well.
She said that after cleaning the area, she has often vomited and is unable to eat for most of the day.
Mrs. Fung has confronted the stall owner and the patrons on many occasions to talk about the situation. In response, she has been met with ‘riotous cuss outs’ from the proprietor and persons who flock the facility.
She said on a few occasions females who were seen urinating in the area while her business was still opened threatened to give her ‘a sound beating’, if she dared to intervene.
The businesswoman said that this unhealthy state of affairs has caused her to lose some customers.
Just a short distance away, are toilet facilities that Cevon’s Waste Management Inc. has placed
outside the Stabroek Market.
But the ‘rum drinkers’ are refusing to access that facility when directed there.
Just recently, Mrs. Fung and her daughter, Adiola Frank, were robbed at gunpoint by two men who were earlier seen lingering with patrons of the illegal liquor stall.
During a recent visit to the area, a Kaieteur News reporter observed piles of refuse stashed between stalls near Mrs. Fung’s premises. Worse yet, was the sight of human feces, deposited after Mrs. Fung had already completed her daily cleansing operation.
Mrs. Fung says she has already made complaints to no avail, to staff from City Hall. She has even asked for permission to block off the area surrounding her cafeteria.
The businesswoman is calling on the Guyana Police Force and the City Constabulary, and Mayor and City Council to intervene in her plight.
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