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A painful routine after false promises
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A painful routine after false promises
A pedestrian of Camp-Chapelon was recently killed in a car accident. Others are stressed following measures taken for the overpass. They cannot hide their anger with minister David who “has not kept his promises of the electoral campaign”…
It is 5.30 a.m. in Camp Chapelon. The day has already started for the little boys. Hisham, seven, has to go to the Madrassah (Islamic tuition) in an annex to the Plaine Lauzun Mosque. He must use the huge overpass linking Camp Chapelon to Plaine Lauzun. Although it may seem easy to walk across the overpass for an adult, it is not the case for a seven-year old child. His tuition starts at 6.10am and it ends at 7.30 am.
Once the tuition is ended, he goes back home, using the overpass again, to have a shower and have something to eat. Then, his father, Kader, takes him to school. He comes home around 4.15pm with his mother and they both use the overpass. But his day is far from over. He has to go for namaz around 6 p.m. To sum up, Hisham uses that overpass five times a day on week days.
His father can imagine the pain the kid feels when the day is over. Actually, he massages his son’s legs almost everyday. He says: “As a father, it is hard to see your son suffering so much and complaining because of the pains he feels every day. The worst is when he tells me that he might stop going to the madrassah. Sometimes I just do not know what to say to him.”
For old people, life is even harder. Basically, for the inhabitants of Camp-Chapelon and Plaine-Lauzun, these two areas complement each over. In Camp-Chapelon, you can find a hairdresser, a football pitch, a multi-purpose hall and a hardware shop. Whereas in Plaine-Lauzun there is a mosque, a madrassah and a dispensary. Hence, the number of people who cross the road to go from one area to the other is quite high. This is the reason why they are begging the ministry of Infrastructure to put a set of lights and a pedestrian crossing between the two areas.
“We feel excluded”</B>
Camp-Chapelon and Plaine-Lauzun are in mourning. On Thursday 19th October, one of their neighbours living in Plaine-Lauzun passed away after he was hit by a car. He was trying to cross the road from Plaine Lauzun to Camp Chapelon. The inhabitants fear that more accidents may occur in the same circumstances.
For nearly two years the inhabitants of Camp-Chapelon and Plaine- Lauzun have been living a hard routine everyday. Stress, insecurity and anger are the three words that could describe their feelings. Their lives have become hard for two reasons.
First of all, it is because the entry that allowed vehicles from Port-Louis to turn into the industrial zone was closed at the end of 2004. And more recently, the closing of the overpass leading to Bell-Village at peak hours (7h25 to 9h15).
Therefore, the vehicles leaving Camp-Chapelon for the South cannot use the overpass. They have to go right down to the Caudan round-about and back up to the South. Car owners say they waste 45 minutes in the traffic jam just because of the closing of that entry and of the overpass. “If we want to go South, we can use the overpass but we must arrive at 7h25. If we are just a few seconds late, we have to go down to the Caudan roundabout. We thus waste 30 to 35 minutes in the traffic. So every morning is like a race against time for us!”
The several requests made by the Comité Front Commun (CFC), the association responsible of the two areas concerned, have been in vain. Hence, they feel excluded from the government’s plans. The secretary of the association, Nassibalee Mauthoor, says that all letters and phone calls made to the authorities have been ignored. “The government is acting and taking decisions as if we do not exist! They are not even trying to get our opinions!”
Other residents are just as angry. “We feel betrayed by the promises of James Burty David. During his campaign, he promised us that he would create an access that would allow us to go to the South directly!” The inhabitants of Camp Chapelon and Plaine Lauzun are losing patience. They are threatening to go and show their anger by public demonstrations on the road itself. Could there at least be some dialogue?
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