LESS than 48 hours after a section of the East Demerara Conservancy dam collapsed, the breach was yesterday sealed and residents of Cane Grove were beginning to see some relief from flood waters that had risen more than four feet in some places.

Additionally, treated drinking water, medical facilities and cooked food, among other emergency relief measures continued to be offered to the some 700 households affected by the water from the conservancy which flowed into Cane Grove housing communities and farmlands from before dawn Saturday.

Chairman of the National Drainage and Irrigation Board, Mr. Ravi Naraine told reporters at the breach site that it was sealed at around 01:00 hrs (1 a.m.).

He would not be dragged into answering questions about the cause of the breach, saying that formal investigations had not yet begun, and suggesting that independent contractors could be called in.

President Bharrat Jagdeo, who visited the East Coast Demerara village with several Cabinet Ministers and top Police and Army officers Saturday and Sunday, has ordered a full investigation into the breach and said those responsible would have to pay for the damage.

"If we ask our engineers, they would say everything was okay," Naraine said.

He estimated the size of the breach was 40 feet, but said that sheet piles, property of the Government, were driven down in a 100-foot stretch.

While the breach has been sealed, water was observed seeping through an opening between two sheet piles.

But Naraine said this was not serious explaining that the water flowing through represents only about two per cent compared to two days ago. He said this should not affect the draining of the water off the land or back-filling work at the breach.

He said back-filling work should start in two days.

While Narine refused to comment on what might have caused the breach, he did say that if the contracting firm B&K had deliberately removed bamboo trees, which offered support to the earthen embankment, that would be unacceptable.

"When you're going to build an embankment, you have to remove vegetation. There is nothing else you can do. The existing embankment would have had vegetation...and you cannot build on the vegetation - that's looking for big trouble. That would deteriorate and that is how you get baggase, really, from organic matter of trees and so on", he said.

"If they were deliberately cutting down trees that were holding up the embankment, I wasn't aware of that. But the thing is not to interfere with the trees", Naraine added.

B&K Construction was given a $360M contract to strengthen 28 miles of the East Demerara Conservancy, according to the drainage and irrigation board Chairman.

Naraine said the project was three-phased and was scheduled for completion by February next year.

With the breach sealed the main focus now is draining flood waters from the housing areas in Cane Grove.

An additional mobile pump was installed at Huntley, Mahaica, yesterday, bringing to seven the number of pumps in operation to drain the land. Five are operated with diesel while two at Strathavon depend on electricity from the Guyana Power and Light Company.

Yesterday, the drainage operation suffered a major setback from a prolonged blackout.

Naraine said that with all the pumps functioning, the flood waters should be completely out of Cane Grove by weekend.

With the breach sealed early yesterday morning, the water level on the land had dropped by more than a foot by 16:00 hrs (4 p.m.).

For many households, this meant great relief. Most of the access roads and dams were no longer under water and the water was out of some homes.

"Them help abey quick," a member of the Gangaram family of Coconut Dam told the Chronicle.

They were busy washing off their concrete walls downstairs. The vinolay they had on the floor of their concrete bottom house was thrown on the dam to dry off.

However, it's not that smooth for all.

Ramkumarie, 48, cannot wait for the water to be drained off the land. She knows how hard it is to traverse through some three inches of water, mixed with waste from the latrines around.

She normally makes a trip about 10 houses aback where she lives to assist her incapacitated mother and brother. She cooks for and takes care of them every day.

But since the flood she has been forced to trod through the contaminated water to carry out her routine.

Ramkumarie's mother, Budni Mangru, 85, is blind, while her 49-year-old brother, Khemraj Sahadeo, experiences fits "every now and then."

Ramkumarie told the Chronicle she had not received any assistance, one of the reasons being that she did not know an emergency relief centre existed at the Cane Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) office at Manager's Line.

The Persauds who live in the Estate area at Cane Grove, were happy to see the flood waters receding speedily yesterday. They had broken down their fence to allow a canoe to go straight into their yard and into their downstairs kitchen.

Yesterday there was no longer a need for the boat. Their kitchen was dry and so was most of their yard.

The Ministry of Health continued to work in Cane Grove yesterday. A medical team has been assigned to the area and continued to provide care for residents who have been affected by the disaster, the ministry said in a statement.

The team is equipped to provide treatment for bites and abrasions (tetanus shots), skin irritations or water borne diseases and other ailments that may arise.

In addition, children are being vaccinated, while the ministry has also provided bleach to the residents to purify drinking water.

Tanks of treated water have been placed at different locations in Cane Grove by the Guyana Water Authority.

An emergency committee, headed by Cane Grove NDC Chairman, Mr. Harry Algu, is coordinating relief activities for residents.

Cooked food is being distributed with help from the Army, and Algu told the Chronicle parcels of dry goods are also to be provided to residents in need.