The residents of Dantzig and Columbia villages in Mahaicony are becoming increasingly alarmed as the sea defences in the area erode more and more every day.
Stabroek News visited the community yesterday and spoke to those residents who live near to the sea dam. “Every day when is around 4 o’clock, 5 o’clock, is sheer water does come and flood up hay,” said one resident who owns a few acres of land near to the deteriorating sea defence, while lamenting the loss over 1000 bags of paddy as well as cattle to the flooding that the high tides bring.
Residents of the area have been pleading with the government to at least compensate them for some of the losses incurred since the defence began eroding. “Compensate the people for the place, the land break way and ya nah fix it, do something fah we nuh!” another resident cried.
The members of the community slammed the government for not providing the relevant materials and qualified personnel to be able to complete the sea dam’s repair. “Them ah bring a bunch ah amateur to do this wuk when they coulda give Brian [Tiwarie] so he could do the wuk good but they prefer tek away the man contract,” a resident by the name of ‘Robinson’ noted.
In a visit to the rapidly eroding sea
defence yesterday, Stabroek News observed workers from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) attempting to build a second temporary dam as the primary temporary dam has begun to erode due to the daily assault of the Atlantic Ocean.
An official of the NDIA who was on site noted that not much more can be done by the NDIA as the Ministry of Public Infrastructure is responsible for sea defence works.