Espaillat province is waiting for attention to its 10 priorities, among them the main highway
Untreated sewage runs into several rivers and reservoirs, infecting the whole region
Mariela Mejía
SANTO DOMINGO. Felix Maria Garcia, president of the Development Association of Espaillat Province, arrived at the Dialogo Libre, sponsored by this newspaper, distributing folders containing documents. They were copies of the Consensus of Espaillat 2013 - 2016, which identified the 10 agreed-upon priorities for the territory of more than 250,000 inhabitants, and which were presented to the President but which have not been acted upon.
"We analyzed our struggle over the last 30 years, seeing what things have been achieved and what other priorities which we have now, and then all of us reached an agreement on 10 priorities which we set in order," explained the Senator for the province, José Rafael Vargas.
There are 44 projects which were begun in different administrations over the last 20 years, among them 27 bridges. "And we wish that at least these projects be finished," stressed Vargas.
Of the priorities, only Number 6 on the list has been partially attended to, and it is the construction of a polytechnic school inside of what was planned to be the Culture of the Science Plaza. Nevertheless, the provincial representatives complained that the Ministry of Education decided to build one in its own manner without taking into account the ideas of the Consensus, agreed to on 30 November 2013.
The principal and first priority on the list which has not been fulfilled by the government is the expansion to four lanes and the lighting of the Ramon Caceres Highway - 10 km, with the completion of the Cloverleaf for traffic at the entrance to Moca.
"We want to avoid that young people continued dying when they come home at night from the Santiago universities, on the overpass at the entry to Moca and on the Ramon Caceres Highway because it is so dangerous," said Senator Vargas.
He stressed also that the province is waiting that the project, which was initiated in 1993 and has seen six administrations go by along with nine ministries of Public Works, be finished. "All of them have promised the completion of the overpass at the entrance to Moca and none of them have finished it, and they have invested 10 times what the overpass costs," he complained.
He added: "If we speak of the National Strategy of Development we have there a model of what should not be a chaotic plan of development."
Water treatment
Another priority which they consider to be an urgent necessity for resolution for the province of the Cibao as well as the North is sewage water treatment.
"Right now we have sewers that have long outlived their design lifespan," said Emilia Lantigua, the deputy director of the Strategic Plan of Development of Espaillat Province. "We are alive and healthy because God is great, I say, but really all our sewage water is going directly into our rivers."
Garcia makes special emphasis in explaining: "The saddest part of this, and perhaps other towns have not realized this, is that all this water - this sewage - that goes into the Caimito River, goes into the Licey River; this water goes to La Vega, and from La Vega goes to Cotui, to the dam in Cotui, then it goes to the Rincon Dam, and then goes to San Francisco, which consumes this water, and to Nagua, so that we are infecting a whole region."
Highways
With regard to rural roads, highways and bridges, Lantigua who is an architect, feels that there is a lot to be repaired and built. She cited that the highways to the provincial capital, Moca, are full of potholes. "It is incredible how we live in a province that is very productive, that generates nearly 7% of the gross domestic product and does not receive even 1% in return," she said.
Garcia is worried that as the years pass with their national budgets these do not include the projects demanded, except for the construction of schools within the National Plan of School Construction which the government is carrying out.
Senator Vargas indicated that they have taken officials to the province and shown them the needs, without any results.
Recently, provincial representatives carried out a March to make the authorities aware of the situation.
The 10 provincial priorities
1. Expansion to four lanes and lighting along the Ramon Caceres Highway as well as the completion of the Cloverleaf at the entrance to Moca..
2. The construction of a sewage treatment plant for the city of Moca
3. The completion of all of the projects already begun in the province of Espaillat. Highways: La Anacahuita-Reparadero-Bonagua-La Playita, San Víctor-Guayabillo-Amaceyes, San Víctor-Cuero Duro-Juan López, Paso de Moca-San Francisco Abajo-La "U"-El Perú, El Fundo-San Francisco Abajo, San Víctor-Los Rieles (from La Mata to the bridge at Canca la Reyna), Arroyo Blanco-Corte Nuevo, Caimito-La Manzanand towards the community of Quebrada Honda, Juan López-Villa Trina, Calle El Río-Nibaje, La Reyna-Borojol-Los Liranzo (bordering on Monte de la Jagua) and the construction of the peripheral road around the city of Moca. Bridges: completion of Zarambamba I and Zarambamba II, in Monte de la Jagua; reinforcement of the approaches to the bridges of Jamao, Gaspar Hernández, Monte de la Jagua, Ortega, El Higüerito, Cayetano Germosén, Las Lagunas, the one on Ramón Cáceres; the El Jobo towards Gaspar Hernández, the one at San Francisco Abajo, at Quebrada Honda, at Los Jengibres (in the Municipal District of Las Lagunas) and the one in San Francisco Arriba.
4. Construction of the municipal parking lot of Moca
5. The Malecon and the sewers and aqueduct of Gaspar Hernandez
6. The Plaza of the Science of the Culture, which would change the urban life of the city, converting the space of the Fort into a center for social, cultural, educational, ecological and technical development, where the polytechnic school of Higher Studies would be established, and an auditorium or convention center for a thousand persons, a school of Belle Arts, a military emplacement, a peripheral fence which would be used for posting traveling exhibits, a pedestrian boulevard and the expansion of the roads to Santiago and Salcedo.
7. Housing solution and wholesale rescue of the barrios of Sal si Puede, and La Joyita, which constitute a great health and vice risk for all the community
8. Construction of the two Eco-tourism Corridors: San Victor-Jamao-Gaspar Hernandez and Villa Trina-Los Bueyes-Arroyo Grande-La Cascada-El Jobo-Gaspar Hernandez
9. The construction of the parks in San Victor, and Juan Lopez, El Higúerito, and Las Lagunas
10. Channel and transform the area surrounding the Moca River as it goes through the city in order to avoid unnecessary tragedies in the case of hurricanes and major storms.
"We analyzed our struggle over the last 30 years, seeing what things have been achieved and what other priorities which we have now, and then all of us reached an agreement on 10 priorities which we set in order," explained the Senator for the province, José Rafael Vargas.
There are 44 projects which were begun in different administrations over the last 20 years, among them 27 bridges. "And we wish that at least these projects be finished," stressed Vargas.
Of the priorities, only Number 6 on the list has been partially attended to, and it is the construction of a polytechnic school inside of what was planned to be the Culture of the Science Plaza. Nevertheless, the provincial representatives complained that the Ministry of Education decided to build one in its own manner without taking into account the ideas of the Consensus, agreed to on 30 November 2013.
The principal and first priority on the list which has not been fulfilled by the government is the expansion to four lanes and the lighting of the Ramon Caceres Highway - 10 km, with the completion of the Cloverleaf for traffic at the entrance to Moca.
"We want to avoid that young people continued dying when they come home at night from the Santiago universities, on the overpass at the entry to Moca and on the Ramon Caceres Highway because it is so dangerous," said Senator Vargas.
He stressed also that the province is waiting that the project, which was initiated in 1993 and has seen six administrations go by along with nine ministries of Public Works, be finished. "All of them have promised the completion of the overpass at the entrance to Moca and none of them have finished it, and they have invested 10 times what the overpass costs," he complained.
He added: "If we speak of the National Strategy of Development we have there a model of what should not be a chaotic plan of development."
Water treatment
Another priority which they consider to be an urgent necessity for resolution for the province of the Cibao as well as the North is sewage water treatment.
"Right now we have sewers that have long outlived their design lifespan," said Emilia Lantigua, the deputy director of the Strategic Plan of Development of Espaillat Province. "We are alive and healthy because God is great, I say, but really all our sewage water is going directly into our rivers."
Garcia makes special emphasis in explaining: "The saddest part of this, and perhaps other towns have not realized this, is that all this water - this sewage - that goes into the Caimito River, goes into the Licey River; this water goes to La Vega, and from La Vega goes to Cotui, to the dam in Cotui, then it goes to the Rincon Dam, and then goes to San Francisco, which consumes this water, and to Nagua, so that we are infecting a whole region."
Highways
With regard to rural roads, highways and bridges, Lantigua who is an architect, feels that there is a lot to be repaired and built. She cited that the highways to the provincial capital, Moca, are full of potholes. "It is incredible how we live in a province that is very productive, that generates nearly 7% of the gross domestic product and does not receive even 1% in return," she said.
Garcia is worried that as the years pass with their national budgets these do not include the projects demanded, except for the construction of schools within the National Plan of School Construction which the government is carrying out.
Senator Vargas indicated that they have taken officials to the province and shown them the needs, without any results.
Recently, provincial representatives carried out a March to make the authorities aware of the situation.
The 10 provincial priorities
1. Expansion to four lanes and lighting along the Ramon Caceres Highway as well as the completion of the Cloverleaf at the entrance to Moca..
2. The construction of a sewage treatment plant for the city of Moca
3. The completion of all of the projects already begun in the province of Espaillat. Highways: La Anacahuita-Reparadero-Bonagua-La Playita, San Víctor-Guayabillo-Amaceyes, San Víctor-Cuero Duro-Juan López, Paso de Moca-San Francisco Abajo-La "U"-El Perú, El Fundo-San Francisco Abajo, San Víctor-Los Rieles (from La Mata to the bridge at Canca la Reyna), Arroyo Blanco-Corte Nuevo, Caimito-La Manzanand towards the community of Quebrada Honda, Juan López-Villa Trina, Calle El Río-Nibaje, La Reyna-Borojol-Los Liranzo (bordering on Monte de la Jagua) and the construction of the peripheral road around the city of Moca. Bridges: completion of Zarambamba I and Zarambamba II, in Monte de la Jagua; reinforcement of the approaches to the bridges of Jamao, Gaspar Hernández, Monte de la Jagua, Ortega, El Higüerito, Cayetano Germosén, Las Lagunas, the one on Ramón Cáceres; the El Jobo towards Gaspar Hernández, the one at San Francisco Abajo, at Quebrada Honda, at Los Jengibres (in the Municipal District of Las Lagunas) and the one in San Francisco Arriba.
4. Construction of the municipal parking lot of Moca
5. The Malecon and the sewers and aqueduct of Gaspar Hernandez
6. The Plaza of the Science of the Culture, which would change the urban life of the city, converting the space of the Fort into a center for social, cultural, educational, ecological and technical development, where the polytechnic school of Higher Studies would be established, and an auditorium or convention center for a thousand persons, a school of Belle Arts, a military emplacement, a peripheral fence which would be used for posting traveling exhibits, a pedestrian boulevard and the expansion of the roads to Santiago and Salcedo.
7. Housing solution and wholesale rescue of the barrios of Sal si Puede, and La Joyita, which constitute a great health and vice risk for all the community
8. Construction of the two Eco-tourism Corridors: San Victor-Jamao-Gaspar Hernandez and Villa Trina-Los Bueyes-Arroyo Grande-La Cascada-El Jobo-Gaspar Hernandez
9. The construction of the parks in San Victor, and Juan Lopez, El Higúerito, and Las Lagunas
10. Channel and transform the area surrounding the Moca River as it goes through the city in order to avoid unnecessary tragedies in the case of hurricanes and major storms.
Mariela Mejía
Continuar con Google