River View regularised residents flooded out; squatters saved by the ‘dam’

The channel to the Koker, the incomplete revetment, and the dwelling area 

Residents of River View Ruimveldt, Georgetown have been affected by floodwaters brought into their community by spring tides and compounded by incomplete and behind schedule, revetment works along the Ruimveldt Koker.

During a visit to the community on Sunday morning, residents said the tides came on Friday, again on Saturday, and is expected today Sunday. Today’s tides are expected to be way higher than the two previous days according to the residents who based their predictions on the met office.

This morning they spoke of water damage to household appliances and damage to kitchen gardens and plants. It was also on Sunday that the resident complained about a contractor’s slow pace of works for a contract he was awarded in November 2019.

The River View Community is located in close proximity to the Ruimveldt Koker which is in dire need of revetment rehabilitation and for which RI General Contracting Services was awarded a contract of close to ten million dollars $9.8 million dollars to be exact. The community is populated by regularized dwellers and squatters.

We were told that the waters over the last few days did not affect the squatters who over time ensured that they secured their dwelling structures on high ground- that is to say, they have built their illegal structures on the river dam that was built to prevent the water from the Demerara River from flooding out the regularised dweller.

While at the location, the contract, Rawle Isaacs also showed up to have a first-hand look at what the water did over the last two days and more particularly on Saturday afternoon into the evening.

Contractor Rawle Isaac

He was questioned by this publication on the reason for the delays of his contract and when the residents of the community can finally get some relief from the flooding caused by spring tides.

Isaacs told BIG Smith News Watch that when he was first awarded the contract, the hardest task was for him to get squatters removed from along the work area. That he said, took several months of writing on his part and non-compliance on the part of the squatters and fisherfolks, the latter of whom had erected structures right along the area where the revetment rehabilitation was to be done.

The contractor told this publication the works will be completed in two weeks’ time.