Another 800 persons get East Coast Demerara house lots

Another 800 house lots are being distributed to persons who live along the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) on Monday at a “Dream Realised” housing exercise organised by the Ministry of Housing and Water.

These house lots are for areas in Good Hope, Two Friends and Lusignan. Lands that were formerly used for the cultivation of sugarcane have been converted to residential and commercial spaces.

The distribution exercise was held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Georgetown.

And eager applicants, several of whom have been waiting for more than a decade, lined up outside the Conference Centre’s gates and filled seats in the compound to randomly pull their house lots.

Lachmie Seepersaud, 65, said she applied for a house lot since 2001. She has been living with her husband in with in-laws’ house since she got married, but now, Seepersaud said she is excited to start a new phase of her life.

Similarly, 61-year-old Kay Rodrigues and her 66-year-old husband applied for a house lot 17 years ago. The allocation is timely since the elderly couple is being forced to leave the land they have been occupying for a number of years.

“I feel too excited because I even forget the rest of the money is in the bank,” the woman said.

Meanwhile, single mother Roshini Ramadhar was another allottee. Ramadhar said she currently lives in a rented space but now plans to focus more on providing for her young daughter and building her house.

These areas will not only accommodate houses. Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves said spaces in these areas have been set aside for the construction of churches, leisure and entertainment spots and government buildings.

Meanwhile, Minister of Housing and Water Collin Croal said more investments are being made to develop house lots along the East Coast of Demerara. This year, about $10.1 billion will be spent on infrastructure projects in this portion of Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica).

This is the second house lot allocation exercise for the East Coast area this year. In April, 1500 lots were distributed.