The Windsor Forest koker has still not been repaired.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, recently told this newspaper that the repairs would have been finished over the last weekend.
When Stabroek News contacted the Region 3 Chairman Julius Faerber, he indicated that the koker is partially functional but not fully. He explained that the problem lies in the stop logs, which are used for support.
Claims that the koker was constructed just six months ago are false, the chairman also said, adding that the door was repaired around that time.
“That koker was there before I was even born,” he stated.
When asked when work will begin on the koker, Faerber stated that the project comes under the Ministry of Agriculture and as such, he would be unable to offer timelines.
Meanwhile, rice farmers are complaining that their fields continue to be inundated.
A farmer told Stabroek News that the dam situated across the irrigation canal has not functioning properly and, as a result, irrigation water is flowing into the drainage canal. This, he said, has flooded their fields over the last four weeks.
“Farmers still suffering… the water wasn’t coming off the field in a timely fashion and up to now water still in the fields,” he stated.
The rice farmer further stated that they have not been able to get access to water, while adding that a permanent superintendent has still not been assigned. “They have a stand-by one from La Jalousie but we need a full time superintendent,” the man noted.
The man related that several complaints have since been made but no satisfaction has been given.
