Contractor BK International remains behind on some sea-defence projects and the state of works ongoing at Bee Hive, on the East Coast of Demerara, is alarming residents living nearby.
Last December, Ambassador Robert Kopecky indicated the EU’s concern over the progress of works being undertaken by BK International, urging acceleration while warning that Guyana could lose funding for projects.
The warning came after inspections at work sites at Kitty, Coldingen, Melanie Damishana, Clonbrook, Springlands, Uitvlugt, Orangestein, Aurora, Onderneeming, Lima, Walton Court, Johanna Cecelia and Zeelandia, failed to impress EU officials.
Recently, Kopecky noted that the EU office was satisfied with the progress made by the company since the pronouncements in December but this newspaper was told that the company was still behind the deadlines for several of the projects.
Stabroek News has made several attempts recently to obtain a comment from CEO of BK International Brian Tiwari but calls to the numbers provided for him went unanswered while the phone was turned off in other instances.
Persons at the company, meanwhile, noted that they were not in a position to comment on issues relating to projects.
On Tuesday, residents of Bee Hive expressed concern over the works at the two and a half mile site at the community’s foreshore, including that it will remain incomplete.
A mother of four, who has lived close to the area where works were undertaken by the company since early last year, noted that when the EU team visited Bee-Hive last year, the officials were “not too pleased with what BK did.”
She noted that in the project works, they refer to the area as Clonbrook. “…but is actually Bee Hive… and you see they had another company doing work here but they moved him to Essequibo and BK came here,” said the woman, who has lived in the area for over three decades. According to her, when works started two years ago, the seawall that stood there for decades was torn down. “They break down that seawall and then placed these boulders here and then sometime in 2010 or early last year, I think, BK was brought to do over the project,” she recalled.
She said that the BK international workers “build up the dam and placed the boulders over it along the sea shore side of the dam.” The company then proceeded to pack additional earth on the landside of the dam. “They packed the earth but if you notice the works which the other company did for a section of the dam, the dam holding up but this what BK did, the land loosing up and the White people fail it for that,” she said, noting that the EU officials were critical of that aspect of the project. “The earth that they used was filled with sand, so, if you notice, it falling apart, especially when the rains or the sea water hit it and in time them boulders will pressure the dam and we will not have anything like sea-defence,” she added.
The woman stated that the company also blocked a drain which passed through her yard, resulting in the area being flooded whenever it rains. “I asked Mr Tiwari about this and he said the company will fix it but look now… a man in the village saying that it would cost me $75,000 to dig back the drain… who giving me the money for that?”
Another resident noted that the company was attempting to dig a small canal parallel to the sea defence works but halted activities after the waterway was being cut in the direct path leading to the veranda of a judge’s house.
The house, which is occupied by a caretaker, was already affected by the works done, since its foundation could not withstand the frequent operation of machinery and sections of the veranda have fallen apart. “If you look, that canal coming straight to the house and it would have passed through that other woman yard,” the resident said, noting that the homeowner objected to the waterway being cut through her yard since it would have taken away a significant portion of her land.
“They didn’t come with a plan because they cutting the thing and it left at a standstill because it would pass through them people land,” a resident, who give his name as Ganesh, added.
Other residents said that whenever it rains, the entire area, including the incomplete canal, is usually flooded while persons have complained that if the sea defence is not fixed, the entire area remains threatened.
