Georgetown and its environs
Though commercial banks opened in the city, it was obvious that many people did not transact business yesterday.

Some stallholders at the Bourda Market told Stabroek News that though they could not afford the holiday and were not in support of the shutdown, they did not open their business because most of the stalls in the market were closed and it would not have been safe for them to open.

From as early as 7:30 am when Stabroek News hit the East Bank Demerara Public road it was noted that there was no traffic build-up on the East Bank particularly in the Bagotstown/Eccles area. On regular working days traffic slows to a crawl. There was a smooth flow of traffic yesterday. Only a few West Demerara mini-buses were on the route.

Schoolchildren, too, who normally line the East Bank Demerara route awaiting transportation to the city were absent.

An eight o'clock city worker who lives at Diamond, East Bank Demerara and who has to leave at 7:15 am found herself at her place of work within ten minutes of leaving home and way ahead of her usual time of arrival at her workplace.

Vehicles entering the city were few including those coming across the Demerara Harbour Bridge from West Demerara. Just before 8 am most of the vehicles were heading out of the city.

Returning to the city, it was noted that a number of small businesses in the Grove area were open but in Bagotstown most of them had shut their doors including the popular Harbour Bridge snackette at the junction of the Public Road and the Harbour Bridge Road.

It was noted that workers at the DDL factory at Diamond were reporting for duty, as well as those at Banks DIH, Thirst Park. Further down the road at Ruimveldt a number of businesses were closed including DIDCO Trading and Kaituk Stockfeeds.

Business at the La Peni-tence Market was slow. Twins Pharmacy like Medicare, Rajpaul's and most pharmacies in the city were closed. It should be noted, however, that while some small businesses were closed a number of people were selling through windows and cracks in the doors.

Lombard Street, which is usually congested with mini-buses, was empty with most, if not all, the businesses closed.

At the Linden bus terminal on Hadfield Street drivers and conductors told Stabroek News that commuters were not travelling.

At the Stabroek Ferry Stelling where commuters join speed boats to travel across the Demerara River to either Vreed-en-Hoop or Georgetown, speed boat drivers said that "business was bad." Some boats they said just moored for the day. In addition, they said that boats that would normally take five or seven minutes to fill had been taking half of an hour.

During the morning hours Regent Street - the heart of the commercial sector - had light traffic but around 90% of the stores were closed. The two gas stations were operational and a handful of businesses including Gafoors on Upper Regent Road had opened their doors.

Those who had opened their stores on Water Street closed them by noon or shortly thereafter including Tang's Pharmacy and Singers. All the others were tightly shut.

Businesses on America Street were closed including the Horseshoe Racing Service where a staffer told this newspaper that the place was shut simply because many staffers had not turned up to work. There were a few hopeful patrons outside.

Businesses on Sheriff Street, normally a busy area, and Alexander Street in Kitty were mostly shut with a few exceptions.

While all the gas stations on Vlissengen Road were open, KFC and Pizza Hut were closed.

Fast food establishments and a number of Chinese restaurants were open. Among those eating places were Demico House, Camp Site and Arapaima. Royal Castle was shut.

A check at the mini-bus parks revealed that there was a small number of mini-buses at all the parks. Drivers at the Berbice depot said they had parked simply because there was no traffic and they also felt that government needs to be warned that it was unsafe for them to travel the East Coast route. No other route was as affected by crime as theirs, they said, noting that many Berbicians are scared of passing through the village of Buxton. Two Berbicians on their way to the Timehri Airport were recently murdered outside of Buxton by gunmen who subsequently fled into the village.

Drivers at the South bus park said that they had come out to see what was happening but decided to park because commuters, especially schoolchildren, had not been travelling.

Apart from the mini-buses, taxis, too, suffered their share of lost business. Some dispatchers told this newspapers that because many businesses were not open many persons did not call for taxis. The drive up the East Coast Demerara as far as Strathspey was easy as the traffic flow was minimal. Apart from a roadside vendor opposite Hamilton gas station at Friendship and a few people congregated at Huntley's shop, there were no people on the Buxton Public Road.

Noticeably absent, too, were members of the joint services on the East Coast or East Bank public roads.

Courts furniture and appliances store on Main Street and its branch on Regent and Camp Street as well as Fogarty's on Water Street closed in the early afternoon. Kissoon's Furniture Store on Camp Street and M. Beepat and Sons were also closed for the day. A number of jewellery stores were also shut.

The majority of businesses on Regent Street were closed and by noon yesterday the usually packed thoroughfare had taken on the appearance of a deserted area. Even the roadside vendors on Camp Street who had displayed their wares earlier in the day "to catch their hand" had packed up and left.