Bethrimy residents call on authorities to fix road

Residents of Bethrimy, Layou are calling on the relevant authorities to fix the road that leads to over 200 homes in the area.

SEARCHLIGHT visited Bethrimy in the wake of Tropical Storm Matthew where residents were having a difficult time going to and from their homes because of the steep and muddy quality of the road, made worse by the downpour hours before.

One vocal resident who preferred to not give her name said that the problem in Bethrimy is that when it rains,{{more}} the road becomes very muddy and to use it, one must wear water boots or some other form of protective footwear.

“The problem up here is that we want the road see ‘bout, from since me know me self the road like that. Them say is New Democratic Party (NDP) people live here so them nah fix the road,” said the outspoken resident.

She said that at times when it rains, they hold their footwear in their hands and put them on when they reach to the bottom of the winding pathway.

“We wash we foot down the road. Some of us wear slippers and put on shoes,” said the woman.

Another resident said that there have been instances where persons have fallen and injured themselves and if a child going to school falls on the path and that child only has one uniform, that child has to stay at home that day.

A male resident said that although persons might say that the road issue was political, the road was like that since the NDP held the reins of government.

“Measurements were done since the NDP was in power; the road had already been measured but the NDP lost and it ain’t get fix,” said the man.

Another resident said that in the dry season, the road is alright.

One woman listening to the complaints said that in her opinion, roads are bad all over the island and the problem in Bethrimy may be because the area has a lot of squatters and persons who bought lands from private land owners and not from the government.(LC)