Area Rep says monies committed to upgrades in Belize Rural North

Earlier we told you of the boating accident on the Crooked Tree Lagoon that took the life of twenty year old Benjamin Gentle Junior. The flooding of the lagoon is occurs during the rainy season and water levels would always increase to the point where the causeway is impassable for months. The waters have been slowly receding and most of the causeway today was under at least fifteen inches of water. But the causeway has been a major bone of contention for residents of Crooked Tree who have been clamoring for it to be raised. Belize Rural North Area Representative, Edmond “Clear the Land” Castro, says that the prime minister has committed monies to upgrades—not only of the Crooked Tree causeway, but other areas in Belize Rural North.

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Edmond Castro, Area Rep., Belize Rural North

“What the people of Crooked Tree had been clamoring for even before I became area representative was to raise the causeway so that we try to eliminate the usage of boat in terms of the top-gallon floods. As a government we started the raising of the causeway if you notice, the part that is complete out of water and that is what we need to continue. And the prime minister had committed that they would assist us with some money this year so that we can continue raising of the Crooked Tree causeway so that we eliminate things like this from occurring again.  With government constraints and budgeting, we started to work on the causeway. The areas that we were able to complete were out of water during this top-gallon flood. So we know exactly the amount of material and the amount of work that needs to be done. Nothing happens overnight and we will continue to do our best to raise the causeway as soon as the water recedes and is workable. We will use the recommendations from the Ministry of Works.”

Reporter

“Isn’t it true though that a life had to be lost and many injured for there to be urgent action?”

Edmond Castro

Edmond Castro

“No, not really. If you listened to the Prime Minister’s press conference, it wasn’t tomorrow or yesterday, it was over a month ago, when we were taking a pounding from the type of whether that we had experience on the country, he had committed that he would give us some money to assist on the road in Crooked Tree and throughout the Belize District. We have other areas that are impassable too during the flood times such as Grace bank and Davis Bank, the people in the May Pen Area.  We’re still working on trying to put up the bridge and dump the road for the people in May Pen. The people on the Old Northern Highway still experiencing some big potholes in the area because as you fix one, it rains at night and then you have to go over the situation. You have the people in the Bomba Area that experience complete cut off from vehicular traffic in this same period.”

Since last October, vehicles have not been able to enter the village because of the water levels.