Weeks after boat sank: Urgent need for boat to ply Corentyne River

Councillor Doreen Annamanthadoo of the Region Six Regional Democratic Council has said there is urgent need for a vessel to ply the Corentyne River in service of the communities of Orealla and Siparuta, situated some five miles apart and some 50 miles away from the Guyana border town of Corriverton.

She made this appeal after a vessel carrying approximately 30 adults and three children, along with cargo, sank in the Corentyne River while on its way to Apoera from Nickerie (a town in Suriname) on November 1.
Residents of Orealla and Siparuta depended heavily on the services that vessel provided. That vessel, called the ‘Blue Boat’, transported cargo and passengers between Orealla, Siparuta and Corriverton on the Guyana side of the river; and between Nickerie and Apoera on the Suriname side.
As she addressed the meeting of the Region Six Democratic Council, Councillor Annamanthadoo pointed to the difficulties currently being experienced by farmers of these Indigenous communities to get their agricultural produce and lumber to Corriverton, where it is sold. On their behalf, she thus requested that a boat be made available to replace the sunken ‘Blue Boat’, which was owned by a Surinamese couple. (G4)