Residents of Batavia, in Region Seven, are up in arms over what they say is an infringement of their land rights by a miner, who has reportedly moved in on village lands.
Toshao of Batavia, Oren Williams, told Stabroek News that the issue had its genesis last Saturday, when the miner entered village lands without the village council’s permission and started clearing sections which he identified as his mining block.
According Williams, the miner claims that he had been granted access to the land by the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) some 16 years ago.