Stabroek News
March 20, 2001

With the exception of a few eating houses, the doors of all business places along Regent and Water Streets were closed as early as 1500 hrs yesterday.

There was virtually little or no vending activity along Water Street, achieving momentarily perhaps what the Mayor and City Council had been attempting for the last couple of years. The streets showed very little sign of life and the few persons who were seen appeared to be heading home.

Store owners on Regent Street, not satisfied that the closure of their premises was enough protection, threw up additional protective barriers. Those who did not utilize the heavy iron sheets employed large pieces of plywood as covering for their glass windows.

In one extreme case, American Sportswear store in the Kwality Mall, which could not use either of the above methods, since iron grill surrounded its glass windows, emptied the store of all its merchandise. Another section, Kwality Supercentre Restaurant, was surrounded with a thick piece of roughly painted iron creating a sense of closure and gloom around the eastern part of that area. On closer inspection though, a scrawled "Open" sign was seen.

Popular shopping places, such as Ram's Variety, Bhena's Footwear and Stretch Your Dollar, were tightly shut. Moreover, the few enterprises that did release their latches started closing at around 1343 hrs when Stabroek News did a check.

Some over-cautious auto sales agents also emptied their stockyards of vehicles and the touts who usually swarm the Berbice car park seemed to have disappeared, making the noise of vehicles traversing the streets the only sound penetrating the eerie silence that came with March 19. (Charlene Stuart)