President promises: '...those found to be responsible for causing the breach should face a financial penalty, which government would ensure was paid in full...'

Overgrowth, including the bamboo grove which buttressed the East Demerara Conservancy Dam prior to its level being raised in a $360 million contract, was removed to accommodate its raising. Material used in raising the dam's level was dug a short distance from the structure.

These activities were acknowledged by Chairman of the Drainage and Irrigation Board (D&IB), Ravi Narine, when questioned by reporters yesterday on claims of such occurrences by residents.

According to Narine, the vegetation had to be removed to allow the contractor to raise the level of the old dam to its present height. Residents have been critical of such an activity since they said that it weakened the structure, making the areas bordering it susceptible to flooding in the event of a breach as occurred on November 3.

Meanwhile additional work was underway to strength the breached area along with seven others identified as weak by the D&I officials.

Warnings ignored

During a visit to the area yesterday, Stabroek News continued to hear critical views of the work done on the conservancy with knowledgeable residents stating that the authorities were warned about its likely failure.

According to a resident, who said he had been employed with the D&IB, farmers had warned about the removal of the vegetation at the rear of the dam which was seen as securing its integrity.

This apart, material used in raising the dam's height, he stated, was dug from an area close to the toe of the structure resulting in it being undermined.

Specifications as to its width, according to the source, were not followed, as it was said that the dam should be wide enough for vehicles to traverse it. This newspaper has observed, some areas of the dam which are too narrow to accommodate vehicles.

Meanwhile, one of several releases from the Government News Agency (GINA) yesterday started that engineers were up to last evening continuing reinforcement work in a bid to completely seal off the breached dam.

According to the release, Narine, who was on site, stated that the remedial work being done by BK International Inc included three sections using sheet piles to cover the entire width of the area.

Four sections of the dam Narine noted, had been identified for repairs to tightly secure the area. This included backfilling which commenced yesterday.

Additionally, the site is expected to be closely monitored to ensure early detection of any possible seepage from the breached area.

Government, the release also started, was closely monitoring the remedial works.

On the question of security of cattle, Minister of Agriculture, Navin Chandarpal, stated that farmers had been instructed to move their cattle to safety following the floods.

He also stated that any assessment of cash crops lost due to the flooding would be done through a survey with some assistance being offered.

In an earlier release, Narine had stated that a second defence was necessary to support the first wall of sheet piling from the flow of water.

According to Narine, an initial plan was to construct the first defence and backfill after which a second would have been built to make a permanent seal. But this had to be altered after unwanted proportions of water flowing from a gap in the first seal forced a change.

Design and compliance

Meanwhile President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday stated that among the areas he expected the five-man panel appointed to government to investigate causes of last Saturday's conservancy dam breach to look at, were those related to its design and whether the contractor was in compliance with specifications.

The panel to be headed by Director of Agriculture Services at GUYSUCO, Dr Harold Davis Jnr, will include, Colonel John Lewis, Guyana Defence Force (GDF); George Howard, Chief River and Sea Defence Officer; Raymond Latchmansingh, Director, CEMCO; and Paul Sarran from the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ADA).

Also expected to be examined was whether there was proper supervision of the work during the project stages and whether monitoring of the dam by engineers and officers from the D&IB, was effective in foreseeing incidents of that kind.

The President made these observations yesterday during a media briefing at the army's Stratshavon base, from where it is continuing to coordinate relief efforts since Saturday's breach.

According to the head of state, he also expects the team whose credentials he termed impeccable, to speak with residents knowledgeable about the dam to get their views as to why it collapsed.

$3 million released for relief

The President, on his third visit to the area yesterday, toured the community observing first hand the progress made in relief efforts while listening to residents? complaints.

According to the head of state, he was satisfied with the efforts of the relief committee, especially that of the GDF.

Some $3 million, he stated, had been released by the Ministry of Finance to assist in the relief, but he expected this figure to vary as bills may have exceeded this amount. He promised to make all expenditure public.

Meanwhile $15 million has been set aside to offer assistance to residents who had suffered as a result of the flooding. An assessment will be conducted by a small team to be named next week. According to President Jagdeo, the team which will be in place by next week will work to assist residents, to, as far as possible, return a measure of normality to their lives.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport and Hydraulics, Anthony Xavier, according to the president has been instructed by Cabinet to examine the physical infrastructure of the community including roads, dams and drains with a view to having these rehabilitated.