Left: The Gleaner's news car labourng through Broadbelt in east rural St. Andrew, as it takes this doddgy bend. Right: Two adults and a few children take the lengthy yet familiar journey back into their community of Broadbelt in east rural St. Andrew. - PHOTOS BY RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
WHAT'S NOT WORKING:
THE RESIDENTS of Broadbelt, east rural St. Andrew, are suffering from bad roads.
SYNOPSIS OF THE SITUATION:
The deplorable state of the dirt tracks is beyond description. A resident had to manually remove huge chunks of stones from underneath our news vehicle for us to get out of the community. Nicole Campbell, a resident, told The Gleaner that the roads have been like this since the late 1970s.
Many taxi operators refuse to enter the community. For those who enter, residents have to fork out in excess of $1,000 for the trip. Others, including children, have to walk more than a mile either to Miller's Gap in east rural St. Andrew or to Dallas in St. Thomas.
Carol Patterson, a teacher who resides in the community, said that she has broken her foot twice walking on the rugged roads. A frustrated Miss Patterson, one of the few residents with a car, is thinking about leaving the area. Miss Patterson lamented that she has to buy car parts every month because of the damage it suffers from driving on the deplorable roads.
A student from Dunoon Technical High School said that he wakes up at 4 a.m. and leaves his house by 5:30 a.m. for his mile and a half long walk to get the bus to school.
The Broadbelt residents are also in need of a bridge. Two rivers border the community - the Dallas River on the St. Thomas side and the Mother River on the east rural St. Andrew side. When it rains and the rivers swell the residents are trapped within or outside their community. They complained that many times they are forced to sleep in neighbouring communities. One resident said that sometimes the rivers take more than two days to subside.
WHAT'S THE STATUS?
Norman Shand, city engineer at the KSAC, said that a team of assessors would be visiting the area within the next two weeks to examine the roads and the bridge. Mr. Shand confessed that most of the rural roads under the jurisdiction of the KSAC are in a deplorable state. He explained that it would cost a pretty penny to have remedial work done on all of the damaged roads. "It will take a large sum, which we might not have at this time," he emphasised.
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?
The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC).
CONCLUSION
Residents of Broadbelt are screaming for assistance. A visit to the community would prove that their cries are justified. It should not be that people are at risk of hurting themselves by simply walking in their community. It's a shame and an indictment of no mean order to have Jamaicans being subjected to such abject situation. This is the second community we have visited with extremely poor road conditions which is represented by Joseph Hibbert, a Member of Parliament. The KSAC needs to turn some of its assiduous attention to the rural areas under its jurisdiction.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Tell us about problems in your community. We will visit and help to lobby for action. Write to: Tyrone Reid, The Gleaner Company Limited, 7 North Street, P.O. Box 40, Kingston; Fax: 922-6223, Telephone: 922-3400 Ext. 6364 or Email: tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com.
