Malvern to Santa Cruz main road blocked as residents plead for electricity

By Nakinskie Robinson 

  

A section of the Malvern to Santa Cruz main road in St. Elizabeth remains impassable after residents of Mount Plymouth in Smoothland district took to the streets early Monday morning to protest the lack of electricity in their community.

 

Monday's demonstration marks the second time within the last seven days that residents have protested the lack of power post Hurricane Beryl.

 

It has been more than one month since the weather system affected the island leaving severe infrastructural damage across southern and central parishes.

 

Downed trees, mattresses, boulders and other debris were used to block the road sometime after 4 a.m.

 

One resident complained to Radio Jamaica News that their community has been sidelined. 

 

"People keep calling the company and they make statement that, no, Smoothland not on the list, and everybody that have light bill get return light bill, so we paying for what we don't get," the woman contended. "I use generator and generator burn up mi fan. I go into Kingston eight days today and buy a fan and it still inna di box because mi cyah plug it in," she groaned.   

 

Another resident complained about the financial burden of using a generator for almost six weeks.

 

"Yuh know how much money that a cost mi?" he said, adding that the residents have tried to assist by digging a hole for a light post, but nothing has been done by the power company. "So we wah some assistance, man. We wah some light," the resident pleaded.