GOVERNMENT HAS to make a crucial decision in relation to those who reside in the areas of Brittons Hill, upper Collymore Rock, Dalkeith, Culloden Road and Deighton Road, St Michael.
It must move as quickly as possible to halt any further large-scale construction in those areas and possibly resite more residents.
Sounds drastic?
Tell that to the people living in Bryden’s Avenue, Brittons Hill, where a 15-foot deep cavern opened last Tuesday, leaving worried residents unable to sleep soundly as they pondered what on earth – no pun intended – was going on mere inches beneath their feet.
The area that opened suddenly is a pasture which I know as well as I know Arch Cot, where a family of five perished in a cave-in during August, 2007.
Since then, the sole major occurrence that reminded us of the Arch Cot ground collapse was the sudden appearance of holes in the Bridgetown areas of Baxter’s Road and New Orleans in June last year.
But last week became a most chilling reminder, especially for residents of Brittons Hill and its environs, as well as former residents, who include myself and some of my relatives.
I grew up in the Paddock Road/ Dalkeith area from about age eight and lived there for 15 years. My siblings attended St Paul’s Primary and, on evenings, used to explore tracks in the Brittons Hill area, some of which led them underground.
They therefore often walked under the existing roads from some point just outside of St Paul’s Primary and, remarkably, reappeared above Deighton Road!
I, meanwhile, attended Bay Primary School and evenings would sometimes find me and some classmates climbing what was then an abandoned industrial dump off Culloden Road, leading to Arch Cot.
There, we could clearly see what we did not know was a cave wall and a few orifices where, quite sensibly, we feared to tread.
Boys will be boys and children will be children; and they will seek fun in the strangest of places. But those areas can no longer be trusted as harmless underground “tracks” to playfully explore.
What we have, in the midst of hundreds of residents and daily workers in a rapidly rising commercial area on the outskirts of wider Bridgetown, is another disaster that can be avoided if the necessary precautions are taken.
Both cases – the Arch Cot tragedy and last week’s cave-in – followed closely upon instances of extensive nearby construction.
This is a fact and while blame cannot be apportioned or charges proven, the use of heavy-duty construction equipment such as jackhammers and backhoes and trucks simply cannot continue if the value of human life is to be placed ahead of commercial interests and other concerns.
Naturally, residents will want at some point to effect repairs to their homes or add a room or two, but this can no longer be done willy-nilly.
Engineering and geological advice has to be made mandatory; and no-one should dismiss the warning of government’s chief geologist Andre Brathwaite.
Last Thursday Brathwaite described the 25ft by 15ft hole as having the potential to drop further since much of the rock, whose top layer is soft, has coral sitting on it and is being eroded by an underwater zone.
We should not now wait for another tragedy, followed by more tears, more ink and more hot air. Government must make thorough investigation and the geological findings on this new incident a high priority, with plans for decisive follow-up action.
Either stop further construction in the area, despite its burgeoning pockets of commercial activity, or resite residents nearest to the two cave-ins. In fact, both actions should be considered before another innocent family suffers.
I know many Barbadians will say people have been living in these areas for years and nothing happened.
But what kind of construction are we speaking of? Forty or 50 years ago, residential buildings were mainly of the board and shingle variety; today massive concrete houses are the norm.
This is good in the context of economic progress and enfranchisement but, in reality, constitutes danger in areas where the rock is fragile or the soil is watery.
We are, literally, between a rock and a hard place when it comes to construction in Barbados.
Furthermore, because of our laid-back mentality, which is culturally and intrinsically West Indian, we fail to take precaution on many issues, including wanton islandwide construction with no apparent concern for waterways and caves.
Until recently, we built stores in the heart of Bridgetown without fire escapes, while beachside restaurants repeatedly damaged by waves are rebuilt, insured and allowed to operate, putting scores of Barbadians and tourists at risk.
Codes and laws are daily more honoured in the breach than in the observance, with nary a second thought – until something tragic happens.
