Farmers who cultivate along the Hope Canal, ECD say that the Ministry of Agriculture has not kept promises to them and they are yet to receive compensation for crops damaged during the building of sections of the canal last year as well as new land to farm.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy late last year had promised to address the concerns of residents and farmers located in the vicinity of the worksite but residents said that the ministry has failed to do so. Attempts to contact Ramsammy for a response yesterday were futile. The much-vaunted canal on the East Coast of Demerara has a completion deadline of December 2013.
As works move apace, residents at Dochfour along the canal, many of whom farm for a living said that they have to contend with the issues resulting from the construction of the canal on their own. They said that drainage and irrigation is poor because of the high piles of mud at the side of the canal. Although the ministry had offered 16 hours of work with excavators to the farmers to dig drains and crown dams, this is not enough, some farmers said.
Roy Doodnauth said that with the onset of the dry spell about two weeks ago, the water in the drains is getting less and there is no way of replenishing it from the canal while in rainy weather, there is no place for the water to run off. “We still a plant but every time it rain, we get flood,” he said. He also expressed fear that the canal could overreach the 300 yards on either side of the canal which the authorities had set as the zone needed for the canal works.
Late last year and early this year, farmers had lost crops after the mud excavated from the canal was dumped on portions of vegetable and rice fields. Rabindranauth Doodnauth recalled that he had paid $140 for young papaw plants and some that were already grown were destroyed during the construction. He said that the ministry had said that they would pay compensation of $40 per plant and this was not satisfactory but they have not heard from the ministry since.
Another farmer, who declined to be named, confirmed that they have not heard back from the ministry on compensation since.
In addition, farmers were told that replacement land would be allocated to those whose land was taken over for the canal but this has not been done. Stabroek News was shown several letters written to the Chairman of the Hope Estate requesting land for which the farmers would pay rent but farmers said that their concerns were not addressed. Up to April 18 this year, Roy Doodnauth had written to the Chairman and said that he has not gotten a response. He had applied three times since 2010. “Up to now they ain’t tell us nothing,” another farmer said.
Meanwhile, in relation to the works on the canal, one resident who is employed with the company working on digging the canal said that the excavators are encountering issues with the pegasse at the savannah. The man, confirming what other residents had related, that the mud was too soft for the machines and the wooden “mats” used for the machines was in short supply. Stabroek News was told that the supplier who previously provided these to the contractor was changed and the new supplier has not been efficient in supplying the “mats.” As a result not all of the machines are working when they should be, the man said. “Right now, they have to get more mats because the area swampy,” the man said. In addition, another resident said that the builders would have to get clay from elsewhere to build the dam as the pegasse is too soft.
In June, the Ministry of Agriculture said that despite some difficulties, the Hope canal project is still “within the timeframe for successful completion,” and up to that point, overall 32% of the channel and dams were completed.
The $3.6 billion canal, when completed, is expected to help drain the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) into the Atlantic Ocean. Currently when the water reaches a high level in the EDWC, water is drained through the Maduni and Lama sluices into the Mahaica and Mahaicony creeks resulting in overtopping and flooding in these areas.
