The Ministry of Public Infrastructure is currently monitoring the erosion of the sea defence at Mosquito Hall, Unity, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara and will soon address the situation.
According to residents, about two weeks ago the wall started to slowly break away and has continued doing so.
When Stabroek News visited the area, about four feet of the dam seemed to have been breached. However, Chief River and Sea Defence Officer Kevin Samad explained that engineers had visited the area and while residents are calling it a breach it is not as serious as it is just “a simple erosion” of the sea dam.
He said the ministry is currently assessing the situation and will decide within the next few days what action will be taken.
Residents disagree. “This tide that coming is supposed to be one of the biggest and the dam gotto fix. If it nah fix then when the tide get big is bare water gon push through de and it could even bruk up the other parts of the dam and flood out the whole area,” one resident who has been living in the area all his life explained.
Another resident pointed out that they are “scared and waiting for the authorities to take action.” He said they have been waiting for the past two weeks but neither persons from the region nor central government have visited the area.
“I don’t know exactly what cause it but it’s bad and nobody seems to be paying attention to it. It’s worse than it looks ‘cause you can look now and see the water coming close, close to it. What will happen when the tide start beating on the wall?” Raj Rampaul asked rhetorically yesterday.
He said persons have been noticed “digging seashells up” every morning at the area and this could be one of the reasons for that part of the dam failing. “Maybe is that but it gotto be the structure too cause I don’t think lil digging for shells could cause that whole thing to come down. So it got to be the contractor ain’t build it properly,” he added.
Another resident insisted that the reason the dam was failing was because of poor work done by the contractor.
Stabroek News was unable to confirm the name of the contractor that had completed the works.
The residents explained that the dam was repaired in 2014 as they had a similar experience the year before when a section had collapsed.
“These people don’t ever do the thing properly. It’s just some lil rocks they does come and throw and then put some sand on it and that’s it,” an angry resident said. He added that since the initial work in 2013 they have been faced with numerous problems that have persisted throughout. “If you even look at it, it don’t look strong and the tide coming in big so people worrying what gonna happen. Once that tide break through nothing gon stop it,” the man related.
