– residents say Aruka River encroaching, urge authorities to act
Several businesspersons at Kumaka in the Mabaruma Sub-Region are concerned about erosion of the land on which they operate their businesses.
A few businesspersons in the area recently contacted this newspaper and voiced their concerns about the erosion which has been happening rapidly since the year started.
They said that this area is the central business district of the Mabaruma Sub-Region noting that the MV Kimbia usually moors on the wharf located on the nearby Aruka River bank whenever the vessel travels to the area.
Stabroek News made several attempts to contact Regional Chairman Fermin Singh but those efforts proved futile. However, a regional official told this newspaper on Friday that the problem was recognized at the administrative level and the authorities plan to address it shortly.
He went on to say that the authorities in the area had advised business persons operating close to the affected area to relocate their businesses but they were reluctant to do so.
He said many persons in the area cited the location of their respective businesses as being important, especially when the MV Kimbia arrives at Kumaka from Georgetown. A businesswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper recently that the problem existed for some time now .She said since early last year some minibus operators had been complaining to the authorities about sections of the car park located at Kumaka which had begun to sink.
She said the Aruka River had started to encroach the area over the years and this, she posited is the root of the problem. The woman said that in a few weeks time it will be the annual ’crab season’ in the area and this season usually comes with an unusual high tide which she noted many persons at Kumaka are fearful of.
A minibus operator told this newspaper last Sunday that the problem was recognised a few years ago when sections of the community, especially the northern part of Kumaka, came under a lot of water whenever the tide rose. He said a businessman who operates his business close to that area did some infrastructural work to upkeep parts of the landscape located close to his place of business but overtime the water continued to erode the area.
Another businessman stated that the administration at Region One wanted business persons to relocate from that section of the community but he said that this would not be a wise decision since it is the main area where they are able to market their goods.
Persons in the community said they believe the Region One administration is not paying attention to the problem.
