Stagnant water increases Chikungunya virus concerns in Region Three
– Region benefiting from training to tackle health challenge
Stagnant water at the Vreed-en-Hoop junction is a cause for concern for persons
A child is seen manoeuvering the flooded section of the Vreed-en-Hoop junction.
living in the Region Three area. This is due to the fact that the water stinks and pedestrians are sometimes forced to walk closer to the middle of the thoroughfare to get about their business.
This is particularly in light of the fact that Guyana is battling to reduce the prevalence of the Chikungunya virus which was first detected in Guyana in May. The virus is transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which easily breeds in stagnant water. Like many other parts of the country, there have been many clinical cases of the virus reported in the Region Three locale, and Alliance for Change (AFC), Region Three Councillor, Harry Narine Deokinanan is adamant that the situation at the junction is doing nothing to help improve the prevailing Chikungunya situation.
Deokinanan, who has in recent times taken a proactive stance to ensure that value for money is had in the Region, informed this publication that it was a few months ago that he brought the situation to the attention of the Best/Klien/Pouderoyen Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC). The NDC, he noted, has responsibility for the Vreed-en-Hoop junction and should have long addressed the situation even before reports surfaced of the mosquito-borne virus.
“The situation that obtains is that there is an indentation at a section of the junction which results in water accumulating for prolonged periods every time it rains. There is no proper drainage, therefore, when the rain falls the water floods the road and people walk onto the road and this even causes traffic congestion at the busy junction,” informed the AFC Councillor.
Director of the Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Services Unit, Dr. Reyaud Rahman in an invited comment yesterday said that “stagnant water is and will continue to be a breeding site for mosquitoes that transmit disease.” It is for this reason, he said, that persons are constantly advised to eradicate such sites to ease the disease burden.
Currently, the Director and other officials of the Vector Control Unit are facilitating training for environmental officers in Region Three to put them in a better position to tackle the Chikungunya virus. And according to Dr. Rahman, efforts will be made to encourage regional officials to address the stagnant flood water situation.
Meanwhile, another evident challenge at the same junction is what has been described as an inoperable traffic lights system which was installed a few years ago. While the lights worked well for a period, they have been continuously flashing red for a prolonged period. And the absence of the fully functioning lights has been particularly upsetting to a number of motorists who are required to traverse that section of the roadway during the congested periods of the morning.
In fact, it was the state of congestion that forced police ranks from the Vreed-en-hoop Police Station to direct traffic at the junction in order to ensure that there is free flow.
However, the efforts at ensuring this free flow is however at times affected by the large puddle created by the accumulated water at the junction as pedestrians and motorists, at times, struggle to use the same section of the roadway.
The traffic light dilemma is one that was raised during a recent Regional Democratic Council meeting by Deokinanan, who was promptly informed that the fact that the lights are flashing red suggest that they are working. This, according to the AFC Councillor, suggests that the administration of the Region has no intention of taking the necessary actions to ensure that the traffic lights work effectively.
