Koker attendant sleeps as river water floods GT communities

– City Council launches investigation

By Shemuel Fanfair

Residents of Alexander Village and Riverview, Ruimveldt, are counting their losses after their properties were flooded owing to the negligence of a koker attendant who reportedly slept and left the sluice open.
Guyana Times met with affected persons on Wednesday who were calling for compensation to be paid out to them over the damage to equipment and household goods they suffered. This publication was told that the Riverview koker door was left open for more than two hours after the time it should have been closed.
It was explained that the door was meant to be closed at 22:00h Tuesday, but the sluice attendant reportedly slept away and was only awakened when residents realised the water was rushing into their yards and homes.
“Many nights, I does wake them up because I live in here and I know the tide and if I see they lapsing, I does go and wake them,” expressed a Riverview man, whose newly-purchased $125,000 refrigerator stopped working on Wednesday morning.

Workers at Riverview, Ruimveldt were clearing bush and clogged drains following the overnight flooding

Residents said the attendant and others attempted to battle the waters just after midnight, but this was too late and water kept on gushing in. The situation got worse as high tide came in around 03:00h Wednesday.
“Water was still inside the fridge; the bottom cupboard get wet, and I had to lose a day’s pay to ensure my things dem secure,” city hotel chef Trevor Spencer told this newspaper.
The Riverview shop owner who is popularly known as Ziko told Guyana Times that Wednesday’s flooding was not the first such incident, recalling that several months ago issues at the koker caused flooding in the area. During the morning hours on Wednesday, workers, presumably attached to the city, were seen clearing access drains in the area. Residents noted that poor drainage contributed to the flooding, adding that the drains were not regularly cleared.
“De water can’t run nowhere,” a man in the community relayed.
Many students were kept away from school, and Alexander Village residents said flooding there was compounded by a backdam canal which was not cleaned for over five years.

The backdam canal at Alexander Village which residents said has not been cleaned in over five years

“It’s not fair that everything you working for hard and investing in just getting damaged every time there is flooding. You cleaning, but it ain’t make no sense because it is the same thing happening all the time,” an Alexander Village resident disclosed.
Meanwhile, Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green was on site and reportedly told Riverview residents that someone from City Hall would check with them to assess their losses. She revealed that City Hall would launch a probe into the flood situation.
“We’re going to have an emergency meeting, have an investigation and move forward. I am waiting on my engineer and the other men on the floor to tell me exactly what happened, but I can see actual damage,” she noted.
However, just before lunch, residents said they were still waiting on the assessment team, adding that they were promised disinfectant fluid to wash their premises with. One woman, a teacher from the Riverview area, however, indicated that disinfectant fluid was not enough to compensate for the losses they suffered. She further related that her daughter’s books, toys and the family computer were all destroyed in the intense overnight flooding.
The residents are calling for the City Council to address immediately their concerns.