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TOTAL chaos with the management of traffic on West Coast Berbice

Aug 16, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

On Sunday, after paying our last respects to Ms. Bibi Shadick, two friends and I decided to travel to the Corentyne to attend a wedding to enjoy the drive and the anticipated rice and dhal puri, chicken and mutton curry and of course well spiced up dhal.
The trip after Weldaad turned into a disaster, as there was a noticeable build up of traffic, which got progressively worse and frustrating. Our vehicle got stuck in the “chowtic” congestion, not only going east but in the opposite direction, as well. We were not moving for periods of 20 minutes (and possibly longer, but who was counting?) and then after a move of a few feet, another period on inactivity. Cutting a long story short, it took more than TWO hours to get between Weldaad and after Rising Sun (where the horse races were held).
We breathed a proverbial “sigh of relief” when we cleared the confusion, all the while becoming “experts” in traffic management, what should have been done and should NOT have been done, and at least a dozen solutions that could have prevented the TOTAL CHAOS.
We got to the wedding and as soon as we finished gorging on the food, we started our trek back to GT, fearing another build up after the races, and at the same time, hoping that the police would have put a plan in place to avoid what took place earlier.
Our expectations were cruelly dashed. About two miles from the venue of the races, there was a perceptible but slow build up of traffic, again in both directions and traffic started slowing down. To again “cut a LONG story short” and avoiding the powerful “French” used in describing the mismanagement by the police, by every man, woman and others, who were held “captive” on the road, it took us FOUR and a half HOURS to experience free flowing traffic again.
In the meantime, vehicles were “bumper to bumper” in a desperate effort to avoid anyone from “boring” in front of them, needless to say the number of instances of minor fender benders, breaking of side mirrors, pedestrian accidents, frayed nerves and clashes, both verbal and a few physical. The two lanes stretch of road became four and five lanes, including trucks battling for space.
Surely any Commander worth his “salt and insignias on his shoulders” should have anticipated such a scenario and instituted a plan to move from Weldaad to past Rising Sun, and vice versa, within ONE hour.
Yesterday, the SUN certainly wasn’t allowed to RISE on the police in Region Five but in fact, the SUN didn’t ONLY SET on travellers but NIGHT (and the moon) found us trapped in the chaos.
I saw a family rolling their suitcases along the road, abandoning their vehicle(s), supposedly on their way to the airport and hoping to get transportation from past Weldaad.
Imagine a pregnant or seriously sick person trapped in that situation. The police there were hopelessly out of their wits and speaking with one officer he said, “Boss man, we deh pon the road since six (in the morning) and had nothing to eat (that was about eight at night)”. A suggestion, we wondered?
I understand that reinforcement was brought from GT, including someone a friend of mine knew from the Finance Dept, and TSU, fully armed, but the situation remained unchanged.
I’ve been to cricket at the Stadium, and other events in and out of Guyana, and can’t recall anything like what occurred yesterday on West Coast Berbice roadway.
I commend those who were caught in that that trap, for the patience, courage and camaraderie shown.
I sincerely hope the police would go to the drawing board to avoid a recurrence of the CHAOS on Sunday, 14th August, 2022.

Regards,
H. N. Nawbatt

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