Work has started on the Windsor Forest Koker and rice farmers say that it was long overdue.
According to the Agriculture Ministry’s Agricultural Sector Development Unit (ASDU), work commenced on the Windsor Forest Koker on Tuesday last and is 15% to 20% complete. A source within the unit told this newspaper that the repairs should be finished in about two days. He added that the work has been contracted to S.R.K. Engineering and further stated that prior to its commencement, “some braces were in place” to support the broken door of the koker.
The koker was not functioning at its full capacity for over two weeks and Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud had promised to have the problem fixed by July 10.
Region Three Chairman Julius Faerber had recently explained that the koker was partly functional. He had said that the problem lay in the stop logs, which are used for support. A strip log, he said, is used for guiding and the bolt was described as rotten, causing the log to slip out of place. This log, he had said, had to be replaced.
