Dear Editor,
As I always said, the MMA ADA project was designed for dry weather and not the rainy season. It was beautifully designed as shown on Plan 72, which was drawn up on May 30 1986, but badly constructed in some places, such as in West Coast Berbice between Pln Brahn and Brittania Village, a distance of one mile where there are only two dams. Farmers get water from the conservancy canal which has hundreds of outlets linked to farmers’ rice fields. Farmers don’t have to depend on rainfall; the MMA blocked the Abary River with a seven-door sluice which changed the course of the Abary River to flow into a conservancy canal, which has an eight- door sluice and a tail-end regulator at Belladrum to discharge excess water.
These two dams between Pln Brahn and Brittania get into a bad state during the rainy season when the rice fields and the dams become the same. The destruction of these two dams has been caused by MMA building a canal and two useless dams on both sides and cutting three dams off from Pln Ross, Yeoville and Chester.
It was a beautiful sight when the project was completed; rain was not falling at the time, but during the rainy season today, people see the mistakes the MMA made. Tractors with caged wheels deposit hundreds of pounds of mud on the sidewalk for nearly fifty rods on both sides of the road where grass grows and covers the white lines. Since there is no yellow line to mark the lane for walking, the road has became one. The same thing happens every crop, and the same tractors deposit mud on the sidewalk in many places in West Coast Berbice. A grader is needed to clear the mud and grass, especially at Pln Brahn and Brittaina Village.
The MMA has seen the mistake of building the canal and they have done very good work at Pln Yeoville by putting a tube across the canal and opening the dam; this will ease the pressure on the Brittania and Brahn dam. The MMA should be praised for all the good work they did, but before this coming election the government should redraw the yellow line which marked off the two lanes as well as the white lines which show the two sidewalks. With wild Corentyne minibuses and big speeding ten-wheel trucks, the guidelines should be clearly drawn. I don’t know when the President and his minister are going to West Coast Berbice, but they should take a look at the road.
Yours faithfully,
Bramdeow Singh
