Berbice NDC, contractors clash over removal of sand for Palmyra, other projects

The Corentyne Highway was temporarily blocked on Tuesday as contractors protested a decision to stop them from removing sand from Number 58 Village for developmental works at Palmyra.
A new sports stadium and several housing projects comprising about 700 houses, in addition to a gated community, hotels and a hospital are among the developments set for Palmyra.

According to President Dr Irfaan Ali, about $10 billion will be spent to push the community’s transformation in 2023. The developmental project also includes the construction of a call centre and a business centre for persons living with disabilities (PWD), which are nearing completion.
The five-year project will also see the development of a Deep Water harbour and the possibility of an oil refinery.
However, Tuesday’s standoff climaxed after the contractors were told that they would have to cease digging sand from the area until they comply with all of the requirements to grant them permission.
About two months ago, contractors started to remove sand from an area adjacent to the newly-built $1 billion farm-to-market road at number 58 Village Corentyne. Sand was reportedly being extracted from very close to the road shoulders, and this prompted the intervention of the Number 52-63 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).

The NDC reportedly instructed the contractors not to remove sand within 30 feet of the road shoulders, while at the same time expressing concerns over damages caused to the road as a result of the weight of the lorries.
Extraction was temporarily stopped about three weeks ago, and then the NDC gave the green light to go ahead.
Anirudh Ramcharitar of A. Ramcharitar & Son Construction Firm explained that the NDC officials visited the site at Number 58 Village and contractors were told that they cannot traverse along the all-weather farm-to-market road.
“They pinpointed what we have to do and to leave so much from the road shoulder. Put a tube at the entrance where we are coming out from, and let us go ahead with our work. We did that,” he said.
However, things changed on Monday. “Yesterday again they (NDC) come in and stopped us. They said it is because of the road issue. They arrange for a meeting this morning at the NDC. We went there at 8 O’clock and no one was there. We waited until 9:30 and no one turned up. We came to the site and they were here and they say that the engineer has to check the road. Now there is a different story with Geology and Mines Commission… This is private property and now we can’t fetch no sand. They stopped the whole process,” Ramcharitar disclosed.
Reports are that the NDC and others have expressed concern over the craters which are being left.
The extracting of sand from Number 58 Village, Corentyne has been put on hold following the intervention of Public Works Ministry engineer Amin Hollingsworth after he visited the site on Tuesday. According to Ramcharitar, he purchased the land adjacent to the road and therefore has the right to remove the sand on this property. He stated that between three to seven feet of the top layer is sand, which he was removing when he was stopped.
However, activist Gobin Harbhajan, who had initially put forward the proposal for the road to be built all the way to the Canje River, to open new lands for farming, says the purpose of establishing the road is being defeated when the sand is removed.
He argues that the land can no longer be used for farming, or even residential purposes, since its value has been depreciated to a point that only a landfill site can be established there.
Harbhajan believes contractors can source sand from other locations.
“This road here was to be used to get out paddy and other produce, and the weight now on the road with these trucks with sand is about 40 tonnes. This road will break away pretty soon. Yes, the contractors have Government contracts, but at the end of the day, there are other places that they can get sand from,” he said while referring to the villages of Alness and Bush Lot.
“Everybody is looking for easy access because of the all-weather road,” he added.
Sections of the road have begun to deteriorate, but the contractor told the media that he had made arrangements with the NDC to repair the road, once they had completed extracting the sand.
Chairman of the Number 52-63 NDC, Hemraj Ghansham, says there are concerns over the damage being caused to the road. He stated that he had instructed contractors on more than one occasion to visit the NDC so that proper arrangements can be put in place.
He explained that contractors will have to get permission from Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and will be required to pay a royalty to the GGMC on sand extracted if permission is granted.
The NDC also has the authority to request a royalty, which is currently not being paid. Ghansham added that he is in receipt of numerous complaints from residents over damage being done along the road surface, and would have also visited to inspect.
“This has been the third time I am asking these truck drivers to seek the relevant permission from the NDC before they do their digging and using our infrastructure, our road. None of the contractors have come in to the NDC. I asked them on many occasions to come in for a discussion on the way forward, because whenever someone is coming to an NDC area to do digging and extraction, they must report to the NDC first.”
Ghansham related that upon inspecting the road, it is evident that some damage has been done to the road surface. Further, he stated that the engineer will have to assess the damage, and noted that from his assessment, based of the depth the contractors have dug, the road will cave in in the future.
Meanwhile, there has been a shortage in the acquisition of reef or red sand used in road construction in Region Six. This is as a result of the massive road rehabilitation and construction work taking place across the region.
Contracts for over 300 roads were awarded to contractors for road works in Region Six in 2022, and a further fifty were awarded for the first half of 2023. Additionally, the Corentyne Highway is to be widened and resurfaced, which will see more than fifty miles of road network being built, further impacting the already short supply of reef sand.
One contractor has been extracting sand from the bottom of the Corentyne River, which has little impact on the environment but significantly alters the cost for sand upwards, and will ultimately carry us the cost for road construction if that avenue is explored.
(Andrew Carmichael)