Dear Editor,

This letter is written in both desperation and hope to bring attention to the continuing and apparently overlooked deterioration of infrastructure in sections of upper Coopers Hill, St Andrew — 12 Mile Road and 19 Mile Road in particular.

These roads are narrow, and in some places practically impassable due to huge potholes which get larger and deeper with each rainfall. They have not been repaired for at least seven years, apart from the occasional efforts of homeowners to patch the more formidable potholes in front of their premises. These roads are in terrible and dangerous condition and they are only getting worse. Cars have to crawl at five miles per hour to try to avoid serious damage, which is near impossible. In many spots, two cars cannot pass each other without serious threat of one going over the continuously eroding edge and over the precipice.

On 12 Mile Road, about six weeks ago, someone dug out a section of the hillside above the road and levelled and cleared it, apparently to build a house. This excavation and removal of boulders has resulted in huge boulders, rocks, and rubble falling into the road. A huge load of rocks now lies halfway across the road. In addition, the new driveway that has been carved out in the hillside leading to the cleared land encroaches on the road.

How can this be allowed? Where is the Member of Parliament, and what is she doing?

Apart from this, the people living in the area are badly in need of reliable water supply. What little water has been pumped up the hill recently is not under enough pressure to go up to tanks on the roofs of some of the buildings; therefore, some residents cannot fill their water tanks and have to resort to storing the available water in drums on the ground level.

This lack of water is becoming extremely problematic, and at the time of writing my household does not have sufficient water to do anything whatsoever, and the National Water Commission (NWC) seems to be unaware, uncaring, or has no trucks to transport water to alleviate this severe problem.

Even when water comes, which is less and less frequently, it is likely to be abruptly cut off for days or weeks, because the NWC pump has broken down (burn out) yet again!

The authorities must be able to do something about these severe situations in Coopers Hill. They cannot continue if people are to carry on their daily lives in any reasonably acceptable way.

Sadan Tayad

Red Hills PO