Hope-like canal at Lancaster: Contractors dug wrong site, farmers to be compensated

Farmers who suffered losses after their lands were dug up by contractors working on the Hope-like canal in villages of Lancaster and Liverpool in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will be compensated as the excavators executed works at the wrong location.

This commitment was given by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who indicated that the contractors have since halt operations.

On October 22, the contracting team had commenced works and had cleared several acres of farmland, including those with bearing fruit trees and several rice fields.

This publication understands that farmers in the area were not informed beforehand of any work scheduled to be done in the area.

The farmers were up in arms about their farms being destroyed and had demanded answers and compensation.

However, during a brief interview with this publication, Mustapha explained that the contractor dug up the wrong site.

He also indicated that the matter is being addressed by the Chairman of National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and a technical team.

“They raised the concern with me. No farmer’s land will be taken over. As a matter of fact, the survey was done and I think the contractor went to a different direction. Now the NDIA would have gone there and they are sorting out the matter. I asked the chairman of NDIA, Mr [Lionel] Wordsworth, to go up there and deal with the issue. So, no farmers land will be taken away or encroached upon,” the Minister clarified.

The agriculture minister further explained that NDIA would be meeting with landowners to iron out the contentious issue, noting that following a survey, farmers will be compensated for their lost.

“Anyone’s land has work to be done, it will be compensated fairly… If anybody lose crop or lost crop and because of digging, we will look at that. I will ask NARI (National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute) to address the concern,” he added.

The new Hope Canal replica in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) is among the many projects the Government is rolling out which will transform communities.

This project is also part of the Government’s plans to provide 100 per cent access to treated water on the coast by 2025.

The Hope Canal has been instrumental in preventing massive flooding along the East Coast of Demerara.

As far back as 2021, the Government had announced that similar infrastructure would be constructed in other regions to curb devastating floods. These include Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Five (Mahaica-Berbice) and Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).

Studies had been done in 2022 to determine whether the water captured at the Hope Canal facility can be treated to be used as a sustainable source to serve the ECD corridor. It was noted that this initiative to reuse the Hope Canal water is necessary, as Guyana confronts climate change as well as responds to the growing demands for more service connections.