OCHO RIOS, St Ann – Faith’s Pen and Farm Town, two small communities in the parish, were the scenes of protests yesterday – one against bad roads and the other to complain about the police’s release of two murder suspects.

In Faith’s Pen, residents from Clapham blocked a section of the main road between Moneague and Faiths Pen from around 6:45 in the morning, to protest against the bad road conditions in their community.

The residents used large stone, pieces of wood and debris to block the road, but the blocks were cleared by police from the Moneague station.

According to the residents, the poor road conditions have resulted in damage to taxis that operate on the Moneague to Clapham route, forcing several of the owners to either withdraw their service or increase fares.

The problem, the residents said, has been compounded by the rising waters affecting a section of the community.

“The whole a round deh flood out; a pure pothole on the road, shocks, ball joint and everything a lick out,” one taxi operator told the Observer.

One resident who refused to give his name said the huge potholes on the road caused his spouse to lose her baby after she slipped and fell into one of them. The claim was supported by other residents.

According to the residents, several loads of marl were dropped along the roadway over two months ago, but nothing else has been done as the road conditions continue to worsen.

Councillor for the Moneague division Lloyd Garrick admitted that marl was trucked to the area, but said the National Works Agency (NWA), which has responsibility for the road, was tardy in repairing the road.

“We’re trying to see if we can get some units to put on it; we have been trying to do that for the last five or so weeks. The problem is that the road is repaired by the NWA, they provide the marl already, they’re now trying to get a grader to grade it up,” said Garrick.

Garrick said after the protest he held discussions with the management at Windalco, regarding possible assistance from the bauxite company.

Meanwhile, Farm Town residents, who blocked the main road leading from Discovery Bay to their community, were upset that two suspects detained in a murder case were released.

However, Cpl Courtney Johnson, spokesman for the Constabulary Communication Network, said the police were unclear about the reasons for the protest.

– gilchristc@jamaicaobserver.com