By: Nyima Sillah
Residents, businessmen, and drivers along the coastal road highway expressed dismay over the ongoing OIC road construction.
Reaching out to The Voice on Wednesday, Awa Sanneh, a resident of coastal road said it would have been ideal to do the work at night because a lot of habitats live along the highway and the dust polluting from the construction is not healthy.
“This is a huge development and we have been anticipating this development for over a decade but looking at the living conditions of people within this environment and health-wise, it is not advisable to carry such work in daylight.
“They should imitate the developing countries that always do such services at night when people’s daily activities are minimized. This OIC project is currently causing more harm than good in our society because work is not done at the right time,’ the distraught resident told The Voice.
She suggested that water tanks should be available to water the ground 24hrs which she belives will minimize the dust to avoid health hazard.
Businessman, Momodou Jallow also added that the construction seriously hampered their businesses because consumers hardly come for shopping. “These are second-hand stuff so the more they are exposed to dirt, the more it affects the material. Sometimes I don’t open the shop for days because I don’t make sales. The construction started month ago and I don’t know when it will end because this construction is not finishing any time soon.
He therefore called on the authorities to conduct a site visit to the project site and find out possible solutions.
Lamin Njie a commercial drive and Awa Sadi a passenger all lamented similar problems and appealed for urgent action to address the situation.