Residents in the West Coast Demerara (WCD) village of Meten-Meer-Zorg were on edge, noting their fears of flooding following damage to a koker door at Tarla Dam. According to reports, the breakaway occurred at 17:00h on Wednesday which caused seawater to flow profusely inland.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) for Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Denis Jaikarran informed Guyana Times that the koker was managed and controlled by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). Around 19:00h, he explained, teams of experts and engineers from State agencies and the Region were quickly deployed to assess and rectify the situation.
“As I speak now, I am here with GuySuCo personnel; representatives of the NDIA (National Drainage and Irrigation Authority); sea defence engineers; regional officials and engineers. The door is going to be fixed within a couple of hours,” Jaikarran noted.
Asked to explain what measures could be put in place to alleviate the situation, he observed that a temporary door would be installed as soon as the high tide subsided.
“There is going to be a false door that’s going to be put in place there; after the real (rehabilitation) is going to take effect, we are working as a team to ensure that we bring this situation to normalcy within a short period of time,” the official explained.
Jaikarran observed that the team mobilised the requisite machinery and materials to commence rehabilitation work. He stressed that despite the flow of water, he had not received any reports of major flooding.
“There is no reported flooding in the community; yes, the water is pouring in, but there is no reported flooding in the community, because I’ve been speaking to the residents who are here who came from their homes,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Commander of D Division (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Leslie James said that Police ranks were stationed in the area and were monitoring the situation.
