CONSTRUCTION giant B&K yesterday completed laying a permanent stretch of sheet pilings at the East Demerara Conservancy dam at Flagstaff, Cane Grove, the breach of which plunged the community into more than four feet of water last Saturday.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Harripersaud Nokta said the Government will have to find money to fix what was damaged as a result of the flood and the administration yesterday appointed members of a panel to investigate the cause of the dam breach.

The Office of the President said the Chairman of the panel is Mr. Harold Davis Jr., Director of Agricultural Services at the Guyana Sugar Corporation. The other members are: Colonel John Lewis of the Guyana Defence Force, Chief River and Sea Defence Officer, Mr. George Howard, Director of CEMCO, Mr. Raymond Latchmansingh and Mr. Paul Sarran of the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary Agriculture Development Authority.

The Office of the President said President Bharrat Jagdeo has instructed that the investigative panel commences work in 72 hours.

Members of the panel have been charged with investigating "all possible circumstances leading to the breach and recommend any remedial work," according to the Office of the President.

The insertion of the second set of sheet pilings follows the cave-in of the temporary stretch of steel sheet pilings Tuesday night.

The Guyana Defence Force, which set up emergency operations under the name `Operation Floodgate', was approached late that afternoon to help B&K with the "earthwork" aspects of the backfilling necessary to bring the dam to the required state, Major Nazrul Hussain said.

The breach has been closed in four sections using 25-feet long sheet pilings. The job now on hand is to backfill these sections using clay, and to extend the stretch of steel sheet pilings to protect the immediate embankment next to the sealed portion.

Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Board, Mr. Ravi Naraine told the Chronicle that "the right soil type" has been identified and will be sourced from the Cane Grove savannah land.

B&K Construction, which has been carrying out the emergency works, would be responsible for transporting the soil from the savannah via two pontoons, he said.

Tuesday's cave-in of the temporarily sealed breach did not cause a rise in floodwaters in the low-lying housing areas of Cane Grove, Naraine told the Chronicle.

"The flow was about 30 cubic feet per second. We have seven (drainage) pumps. They vary between 60-120 cubic feet per second," he explained.

Nokta told the Chronicle "obviously we did not plan for this, (the flooding), so we will have to find money...to build back roads, bridges and kokers."

"We are now looking at getting water out of the land and we will carry out an assessment of the losses," he explained.

Most of the affected residents in Cane Grove were yesterday getting reacquainted with dry bottom house kitchens and yards, as floodwaters drastically receded with the emergency drainage operations in place.

The only areas steeped in water were sections of Saywah and Granny Field.

The Government distributed hampers of food ration on Tuesday to last a family a week but Nokta said the some 700 households affected "should have one more week supply of food."

"I will make the recommendation," he said.

In addition to the food relief offered by the Government, other agencies have helped, while others have made promises.

Overseer of the Cane Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council, Ms. Bibi Khan, said that Banks DIH donated 800 boxes of biscuits on Wednesday, while the Red Cross has promised aid and Thermofreeze committed to offering pure water.

Khan said the multi-sectoral relief plan put in place to bring Cane Grove to normalcy after the flood was a good one and there were no major coordination problems.

"The Government has done a good job, " she said, adding, "they responded immediately."

Dr. Shanti Singh, who is in charge of the Cane Grove health centre, said that there were no reported cases of diarrhoea yesterday and the vaccination exercise against Tetanus and acute respiratory infections was about complete.