‘We fed up with GPL’ – Says Mibicuri residents whose lives are under threat from exposed wires
PUBLISHED : 4 hours ago, Friday, October 06, 2017, https://www.guyanaguardian.com...hreat-exposed-wires/
Several lengths of fallen electricity wires in the Mibicuri, Black Bush Polder area are now positioned to endanger the lives of residents and their agricultural livestock.
The wires are said to be live.
The issue came about after several utility poles have fallen in the area. Residents had surmised that the poles have fallen because of various reasons, including poor implantation, while others were visibly rotten or were simply too weak to support the heavy copper power lines.
Residents had surmised that the poles have fallen because of various reasons, including poor implantation by GPL workers in the first place, while others were visibly rotten or were simply too weak to support the heavy copper power lines.
They stressed that the matter has been repeatedly reported to Guyana Power and Light (GPL) but is yet to be addressed.
On Wednesday, Regional Chairman David Armogan met with farmers in the community to address some of the issues affecting them and they expressed their frustration at the perceived lack of interest that GPL has shown towards the problem.
According to them, there are at least five different places in Mibicuri where fallen GPL lines are posing a direct danger to them. In one instance they say they have been reporting the situation for more than one year.
They are of the view that the power company is bent on being delinquent with them since they have been reporting the situation to GPL for more than one year.
Another resident, Neron Chan Persaud of South Mibecuri told this publication that the live wires are running along the street in the residential area, and within a dangerously close proximity to residents, including children.
He added that a few years ago, a tree fell and severed a section of the wired network from the post.
However, in spite of repeated calls to GPL to come and take off the live wires that were resting on the ground, or to do something else to rectify the problem, no one from the power company has ever come.
Interestingly, the same live wires on the ground supply electricity to buildings in the community.
Another resident, Anand Persaud, also referred to the volume of utility poles that are currently leaning in a dangerous manner around the community, including one that would fall at any minute in front of his house.
However, taking a lesson from the books of others who have reported their concerns and received no action, the farmer said he simply did not bother to report the issues to GPL, but expects the company to deal with it along with the many other broken poles in the area.
Stressing on the matter further, another resident, Ms. Padmini Edwards told the Guyana Guardian that for the past three weeks the poles have been like that in front of the house.
“About one month now it bruk and we been calling GPL but nobody ain’t comin fuh fix it,” she said.
Ms. Edwards added that one street away from her location, wires were are literally running flat on the street where a pole had fallen. Meanwhile, Armogan had interrupted the meeting to inform an official from the electricity company of the complaints and shortly after workers were seen in the area.
In response to their complaints, Armogan told the residents that he is in contact with GPL and that an official from the power company would act upon their complaints.
Moments later, workers were seen in the area, but they left without doing anything.
Several moments later, and during another phone call with Armogan, an official from GPL claimed that its workers were “just” on the ground in Mibicuri, but did not saw any wires lying around as reported.
However, residents have told the Guyana Guardian that no one from GPL had visited the affected area during the period that they claimed workers were there.
