The removal of sand at Number 58 Village, Corentyne has caused outrage and worry that the all-weather road at the location can be damaged, and Gobin Harbhajan, a community activist in the area has raised the issue with several agencies.
Around five contractors have been excavating sand purchased from owners of transported land on both sides of the all-weather road to supply the developmental projects currently ongoing at Palmyra, Corentyne.
However, Harbhajan, yesterday stated that he had raised the issue first with the Number 52/63 Neighbourhood Democratic Council and also contacted several ministers on the matter, as according to him, “contractors digging both sides of the road must follow the rules and regulations for approval to be given by the NDC, Geology and Mines Commission, EPA, and Lands and Survey before they can do work like that.”
He said after raising the matter he thought regional officials would have visited the location but they did not as such he phoned a minister on the matter who promised to look into it once more. On Monday, Harbhajan decided to visit the location where work was eventually halted after he raised the matter with the truck drivers transporting the sand.
Harbhajan said, “These trucks are over 40 tons and it’s rattling the foundation, the digging that is being done will eventually lead to erosion.”
He questioned, “If you dig out both sides of the road what is the purpose of the road? You digging up prime land what supposed to be for farming.”
In October 2022, President Irfaan Ali commissioned the newly constructed farm-to-market road located in Number 58 Village, Corentyne, which opened up thousands of acres of land to farmers and residents of Region Six.
The billion-dollar road is 6.4 kilometers and was completed with asphaltic concrete.
Totality
President Ali at the location had stressed that the project is not just about a road but is part of the large infrastructure plan which will lead all the way to the Canje Creek and in totality will open up over 50,000 acres of land for production.
However, the community activist yesterday stressed, that contractors are looking at the easiest way to access sand for construction projects as according to him there are other locations where sand is being dug some 300 metres away from the road.
The NDC Chairman, Hemraj Ghansham told reporters on Tuesday that after receiving several complaints he visited the location. He said, “This is the third time I am asking these truck drivers to seek the relevant permission from the NDC before they come and do their digging using our road. None didn’t come to NDC and I have asked them many times to come. They must report to NDC when doing the digging, etc.”
He continued, “This road will definitely cave in with the current depth of digging. We are currently working out a solution. We understand that they have to go through a process to seek permission from the Geology and Mines Commission, and EPA.”
One of the contractors, Anirudh Ramcharitar when contacted said that they had visited the NDC where they were given specifications all of which were followed. According to Ramcharitar, there was no issue raised with them until Monday when Harbhajan arrived at the location.
The contractor has invested some $15.1m to purchase the sand at the location to supply the current ongoing projects at Palmyra. Around four other contractors have also been using the location for sand.
According to him, there were told to dig 12 feet away from the road which was done and that the trucks should not weigh more than 25 tons and drive on the middle of the road, “and sometimes the truck does weigh about 23 to 24 tons.”
Furthermore, Ramcharitar relayed that each contractor had placed a tube at the location also to ensure that the drainage is not blocked stressing, “These are transported lands.”
He also said that at the beginning of digging they had pledged to repair the road if there was any damage, and according to Ramcharitar as of yesterday there was no damage.
“The matter resolve now… We will sign a letter that says we will fix if any damages on the road and not just fix rebuild the part… We had told them this from starting but we will sign to it now and the matter resolve”, he said.
He added that if other permissions are needed to dig that will also be sought as they have no other choice but to excavate the sand they have already paid for.
Meanwhile, based on information gathered, truck drivers on Tuesday decided to block the Corentyne main access road with their trucks after the issue arose as according to them their work was being affected which would ultimately affect them meeting their bills at the end of the month.
