Dear Editor,
In your edition of December 21, 2008, you reported that the “Andrews sluice is blocked with driftwood, silted up and has not been operable for some time,” and that with the sluice not in operation the water accumulates on the land. In respect of the pump beside the Andrews sluice which is not working, Region 2 Chairman Alli Baksh said that it had developed a “mechanical problem” during the rainy season. However, the residents said that the pump had been out of operation for quite a long time, and the only thing wrong with it was that it was leaking oil because the seal was bad.
Editor, there is a pump attendant there on a daily basis, who monitors the pump and would have noticed such a problem. Furthermore, once the pump has gallons of transmission oil, and is not working, it would not have leaked much oil. Additionally, if the pump attendant had noticed the problem of leaking, why did he not report the matter to the RDC for corrective measures to be taken? The Chairman should tell the people exactly why the pump has been inoperable for a long period of time.
A letter sent to me by the Minister of Agriculture dated April 20, 2008, concerned the enlargement of a structure placed in the drainage canal leading to the Andrews koker which impedes the smooth flow of the excess water from the Better Hope area through the Andrews koker. This structure is an obstacle in the drainage canal, and I call upon the NDIA and the RDC to remove it completely. Since we have not received the promised sluice for the Better Hope area as yet which would have solved the drainage problems for a large rice-farming area like ours, the removal of the structure within the drainage canal leading to the Andrews koker, would assist in the reduction of excess water on our rice lands.
A drainage trench about 6 ft in width near the Better Hope public road, is responsible for the drainage of my rice lands as well as those of others, in addition to the residential area.
This trench is heavily silted affecting the drainage of my rice lands. I made a request to the REO for the region’s excavator to dig the public road drainage trench, but the promise to do so has not materialised as yet.
In my letter dated December 18, 08, I made mention of a missing wrench from the Andrews koker (this is used to wind up the sluice’s door), which only re-surfaced today, December 27. This was replaced on the sluice because Minister of Agricul-ture Robert Persaud was visiting the area.
Even though the help may be small, the publicity that these letters may bring would put pressure on those who should be accountable to “we” taxpayers.
Yours faithfully,
Indar Bacchus
