Damaged koker…Flood victims threaten massive protest

Oct 22, 2014 News

There is a belief that only protests will get the government to fulfill its mandate to people,

Mrs. Rhobe on the day of the flooding

this is why the residents of Peter’s Hall and Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD) are threatening to stage a massive show of disapproval.
The protest, according to residents, will be to register their displeasure with the way the authorities have reacted to the recent flood which has left a number of persons still counting their losses.
Around 02:00 hrs on October 09, last, Peter’s Hall and Providence residents helplessly watched as water rushed into their homes after a koker located between the communities collapsed.
By 06:00 hrs a number of homes were filled with up to four feet of water.
On Monday last, several residents flocked the Peter’s Hall Primary School where they selected a group of persons to represent both communities. They also voiced their frustration with the way they were being treated.
One resident, Maria Bailey, who was selected to be a part of the committee, said that the residents are disgruntled over the “whole situation.”
The woman said that on the day of the flooding it was only members from A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) who visited and sympathized with the residents.
“We are upset because we lost almost everything we had in our homes. We had a meeting with the Minister of Local Government last week and we are not satisfied with what he had to say,” Bailey said.

Some of the residents who attended the meeting.

She added that the residents have decided to write a letter and address it to President Donald Ramotar.
“If we don’t get justice then we will move to plan B and that is to stage a massive protest. We will not take this so easy. Such a terrible thing happened to us and no Government official said anything to us or even sympathized with us,” Bailey said.
On the day of the flooding, a number of residents were in distress.
One woman, Brenda Rhobe, told Kaieteur News that she has been residing in the community for several decades and has never experienced such flooding.
Mrs. Rhobe recalled that around 01:45 hrs on October 09, last she was sleeping when she was awakened by loud screams.
“I got up and the water was all over… when I open my door, the water rush into my house. We couldn’t have saved anything because the water was running into the house fast, fast,” Rhobe said. The woman’s 83-year-old mother had to be lifted to the upper flat of the house as the water rushed in.
Repairs are currently ongoing on the koker.