Nathuram Darbhunauth, the sugar worker who was found dead at the Uitvlugt estate might have drowned in a freshly dug canal there.
A colleague of the 21-year-old Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) sprayer, who was found dead in a canal on Saturday, said that they always sprayed with their safety apparatus.
The man, who is also a relative of Darbhunauth of 16 Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, said that when spray-hands arrive at work they must first change into their protective overalls, long boots, gloves, goggles, respirator and face masks before venturing into the fields with their spray cans.
Weedicides like 4D and Dyron, the man explained, are used by spray-hands to tackle soft weeds while the Round-up is used for hard weeds. The man said that sometimes sprayers can spray for three hours nonstop.
He explained that because spraying is a “job work” they have no fixed or planned hours of work.
He went on to say that he doesn’t think that Darbhunauth’s death resulted from his being affected by the weedicides he was using to spray. He pointed out that the man would have been wearing his respirator while spraying.
He said that the respirator supplied by the estate was changed every three days or before if the need arose.
When asked how it was determined whether a respirator needed to be changed before the three-day period he said that they would check to see if it had gathered too much dirt.
Somarie Roopnarine, Darbhunauth’s mother, said that the last time she saw her son was early Saturday morning while he was riding to work on his bicycle. The woman said that she was informed of her son’s death by representatives from the estate who came to her house.
She said she was told that her son went by the canal to wash his face. Darbhunauth was not wearing his safety gear when he was found and his mother said she believes he removed it to wash his face and that he slipped in and drowned. Her son, she said, could not swim. Another relative explained that the estate canals have recently been cleaned and as a result the waterways were left with steep slopes.
Darbunauth was discovered missing around mid-morning Saturday and a search was launched for him. His hat was seen floating in the canal and his spray can was found on a dam at the estate. Upon venturing into the water, the man’s colleagues found his lifeless body.
GUYSUCO has since launched an investigation.
