RESIDENTS of Cane Grove, East Coast Demerara, who were affected by widespread floods from the November 3 breach of the East Demerara Conservancy dam, yesterday began receiving monetary assistance from the Government.

Mr. Pulandar Kandhi, head of the six member committee established to look into the impact of the flooding on residents and determine the amount of monetary assistance for them, was in Cane Grove yesterday afternoon distributing individual cheques to some 480 people entitled to $30,000 or less.

He said the 480 cheques totalled about $6.123M.

He said that from today, 89 more cheques ranging in value from $31,000 to $280,000, will be given to those hardest hit by the flood. These cheques total some $7M and Kandhi said the overall monetary assistance that will be given to the Cane Grove residents is close to $14M.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon noted yesterday that the committee had concluded its work and handed in a report which was considered by Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday.

He told his regular post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the President the committee indicated that it had interviewed all the families and had produced a costing of the impact, on an individual basis, of the flood on the homes of the residents of Cane Grove.

He said too that the administration had identified a sum of about $15M to provide some assistance to the residents.

The intention is to conclude payment and the distribution of the assistance to the affected residents by the end of this week, Luncheon said.

The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development was tasked by Cabinet with establishing the six member assistance assessment body.

Asked whether the assistance by the Government will rule out the possibility of those persons affected by the breach from going to court for compensation against those that might be found culpable for the cause of the breach, Luncheon pointed out that it was never the Government's intention to "compensate".

He said the Government's offer was to "provide support and assistance" to the affected residents.

"I don't doubt there may be some who feel so disadvantaged by the quantum of support provided in the context of the volume of their losses that they may indeed resort to having this matter dealt with in the courts," he said.

"I believe that is an option that the residents cannot have denied them because of Government's willingness to provide support."

Other members of the committee are Overseer of the Cane Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Ms. Bibi Boodhoo; housewife, Ms. Ophelia Williams; retired Senior Land Development Officer and NDC Councillor, Mr. Roopnarine Ramgopaul; Land Development Officer, Mr. Shelton Algoo and Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock representative, former Amerindian Affairs Minister, Mr. Vibert de Souza.

The committee, as part of its work, visited individual homes at Cane Grove to do the assessment and to determine whether a family really suffered or not.

Some 600 families were affected and their losses vary.

Luncheon also said the investigative panel, which is conducting the broad-based and profound inquiry into the breach, is still committed to providing a preliminary report by the end of the next two weeks.

The team probing the breach is headed by Mr. Harold Davis Jr., Director of Agricultural Services at the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO).

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.

Members of the team have been charged with investigating all possible circumstances leading to the breach and to recommend any remedial work.