Operation Tourniquet road blocks causing long delays on East Coast
Army asks for patience
Stabroek News
June 22, 2002
Mini-bus operators and commuters using the East Coast Demerara (ECD) road have voiced concern at the manner in which the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is carrying out Operation Tourniquet, but the army is asking citizens to be patient.
The crime fighting operation, which is aimed at halting the chilling crime spree in the country through the arrest and prosecution of those responsible was launched on June 5.
Ever since it began soldiers have set up control points and road blocks along the ECD Public Road and also on the Railway Embankment. At first, most residents had exercised patience, but during the course of last week and earlier this week commuters and mini-bus operators plying Route 44 (Georgetown/ Mahaica) and Route 50 (Georgetown/Rosignol) lamented that that they were made to wait in long lines on both sides of the road for prolonged periods.
The army has put up two road blocks - one just in front of Trans Pacific Motor Spares at Good Hope on the Public Road and another one in the same area but on the Railway Embankment. Stabroek News observed the road block on the public road, which had wooden bars painted in red and white erected some 15 feet apart along with three others lying just in front with long spikes. Vehicles travelling from upper EC to Georgetown and those from the opposite direction would all converge at this point. And since that part of the road accommodates two-way traffic there is usually a heavy build-up at both ends.
The roadblocks are positioned in such away that only one vehicle could pass at a time and the army does not allow that vehicle to exceed ten miles per hour. While a vehicle is passing through the cordons, the soldiers, armed with guns and wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, would intensely screen the vehicle. During the night the vehicles owners are made to dim their front lights and put on the inside ones. Moreover, sometimes at night, the ranks ask passengers/commuters to disembark cars/minibuses, while they carry out checks. During such checks, there is usually a long line of vehicles waiting at the other end, since the soldiers would check ten vehicles at a time, before moving to open up the other end of the roadblock. As a result, there is usually a build-up of commuters waiting at the East Coast bus park.
Operation Tourniquet, according to the GDF, is a follow-up to Exercise Plaster of Paris, during which the army repaired the Railway Embankment Road that passes through Buxton. However, Public Relations Officer of the GDF, Major Meusa, responding to citizens' complaints told this newspaper that the army was not deliberately inconveniencing citizens who used the East Coast road but rather was responding to the crime problem in the country. He said that earlier in the operation road blocks were only set up at night, but the army's latest move to put up cordons during the day was as a result of information that it had received.
Meanwhile, the GDF officer asked that citizens be patient. "While we are cognisant of the inconvenience this operation is causing to you we have to recapture the bandits." He also said that the road blocks during the day will continue indefinitely.
Many people have been reporting to work late since Monday. Transportation from the East Coast is usually difficult to access on Monday mornings and with the army's operation on that day many school children, workers and other citizens who were heading home to Berbice or travelling to Georgetown on business were left stranded on the road for long hours. One mini-bus driver said that he now had to wait at least 35 minutes in the line while heading to Georgetown and another 45 minutes when returning. As such, the time he would have taken to complete a trip was extended. He said this meant that he now worked fewer hours during the day and had not been able to secure the day's targeted earnings since Operation Tourniquet began. (Nigel Williams)