Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) Paul Bhim has said that the sugar corporation is aware that the head of the Torani Canal is progressively becoming shallower because the banks of the canal are eroding and sliding into the water, but that the “situation does not pose any immediate threat to the area.”
On a recent visit to the location workers who operate the corporation’s five-gate sluice had expressed concern about the situation, which they said could pose a great risk to the sugar cane plants and the crops of farmers in Region Six, as less water is flowing into the canal from the Berbice River.
However, when contacted Bhim told the Sunday Stabroek via email that there is no immediate threat but revealed that a senior management team from the corporation was expected to visit the location for a further assessment.
He said based on the report from the team, “an action plan will be put together in conjunction with Regional Chairman as the canal comes under the control of the region and NDIA.”
The five-gate sluice allows water to flow from the Berbice River into the Canje River, in order to maintain the level of the latter for irrigation purposes.
Meanwhile, Head of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Lionel Wordsworth also told this newspaper that while there is a problem and plans are afoot to address it, it does not pose any immediate risk.
He explained that about six weeks ago he visited three pump stations in the Canje River and they were functioning, while noting that the Torani Canal supplies fresh water from the Berbice River to the Canje River and this is mainly required when there is a dry season.
Wordsworth said there are some areas that would require “some maintenance work” in the “near future” and that they would have to start with the elevation of the banks and get some “invert level of the bed of the channel.”
“I am aware of it, while it requires maintenance work, it is still supplying the Canje River with water; for us to do it in a technical and engineering way, have to get the invert level and surveys done,” the NDIA head said.
“We understand the criticality of it [and] while it is very important to have it functioning, it is functioning,” he maintained.
And when asked Bhim said if the problem does become very serious it can “restrict the volume of water flowing through the canal and the region will be requested to excavate.”
However, he said they are currently assessing whether the problem could affect the sugar crop and the farmers who depend on the canal for water.
Aubrey Harris, who worked all his adult years on the compound before retiring last year and whose sons continue to operate the pumps, had told this newspaper that the last contractor that dug the canal used the same silt which was dug up to shore up the shoulders of the banks. This is not supposed to be done as the silt is just sand.
“They had to get mud to do this and they would have had to fetch it from the back which would have cost more. I tried to stop them from doing that [using the silt] but they just did it anyway,” Harris had told the Sunday Stabroek during a recent visit to the area.
He said that now they are seeing the effects of the “cock work that they did.”
Harris had said because the canal is filling up, the flow of the water has severely slowed and this could mean disaster, especially in the light of the fact that the country is facing a dry spell.
Along with his three sons − Regan, Rouqueston and Richardo – he strongly advocated that the canal be re-dug as this is the only way the problem can be rectified.
Harris had also talked about the need for the canal to be urgently cleaned because the overhanging branches also slow up the flow of the water.
But when this was put to Bhim he responded: “We are of the opinion that it is fairly clean.”
He said also that they are assessing whether there is need to clean the canal.
And Harris, who still lives on the compound with one of his sons, and the workers, had complained that while the sugar corporation had promised to make a landing for the workers and their children to use, this has not been done and it continues to be a very dangerous process to get to and from the river. They had said because there is no running water the women and children are forced to fetch water from the riverside which itself poses a risk to them.
However, when this was put to Bhim he said that the situation does not pose any serious risk to the workers and their family.
“There is an element of erosion but this does not pose any serious risk to the workers and their family,” he wrote in the emailed response, adding that the corporation is “well aware” of the situation.
He said that after the senior management team had visited the location a decision would be made on whether steps would be taken to address the problem.
There were a few other issues the workers raised, including the absence of running water in their homes and the six hours of electricity that is provided which they say is inadequate, while one of the workers complained about having to live in a dilapidated, bat-infested house.
Also in 2010 this newspaper had reported about the deplorable conditions under which the workers lived and their dilapidated two-storey house, but since then the sugar company built two houses which are occupied by two of the workers and their families. However, the third son, with whom the senior Harris and his wife continue to live in the upper flat of the same building which according to him is bat infested. He had told this newspaper that bats pose a threat to their health and he was forced to remove his young child from the home because of this. In addition, whenever it rains the roof of the house leaks.
Asked about this, Bhim said the problem is being addressed.
“These issues are being addressed,” he said, also referring to the complaint by the workers that they are only provided with six hours of electricity which they claimed was inadequate. However, the sugar company head said that there is an arrangement with the workers to provide that amount of electricity per day.
