–Farmers to be compensated for disruption of their livelihood
THE Agriculture Ministry, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), has been working with East Coast Demerara farmers in the Hope/Dochfour area to assist them in coping with the disruption of their activities as the construction of the Hope Canal continues.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy made this disclosure yesterday during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, in which he explained that, in some cases, the assistance efforts have also engaged the attention of the department associated with compensating farmers for losses they have incurred.
“The NDIA has completed arrangements with most of these farmers, and (we) continue our discussions with the farmers to ensure everyone is satisfied. We will continue these discussions until everyone is comfortable with the relief being provided,” he stated.
Ramsammy acknowledged that construction of the channel has indeed caused some disruption in the activities of farmers, and that some amount of stockpiled material has spilled over to farmlands owned by nine (9) farmers. 
The Agriculture Minister said that, subsequent to reports in the media that farmers had incurred losses, a meeting was held with those affected, on January 11, 2012, to discuss the idea of relief packages.
He said, “The NDIA has completed arrangements with most of these farmers, and continue our discussions with the farmers to ensure everyone is satisfied. We will continue these discussions until everyone is comfortable with the relief being provided.”
The minister took the opportunity to apologize to all who have been inconvenienced, and he also expressed hope that the Agriculture Ministry and the NDIA “will be able to reduce and eliminate all discomfort as the project implementation accelerates.”
The project is just about 25% complete; and, according to Minister Ramsammy, works on the actual channel will be completed by December 2012, while the remaining components of the project will be completed by May 2013.

BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
Minister Ramsammy also revealed that construction of the new bridge to accommodate the relief channel at Hope is about to begin.
As a consequence, the traffic flow will now be detoured through a bypass which been constructed at Hope.
The construction of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) Northern Relief Channel at Hope/Douchfour is aimed at improving water management, particularly to improve drainage capacity into the Atlantic Ocean, and is an example of how Guyana is responding in its adaptation programme for climate change.
The project is being implemented in four stages, all of which are being executed concurrently. These include the construction of the actual relief channel from the EDWC to the Atlantic Ocean, the Head Regulator at the Conservancy that would allow release of water from the EDWC into the channel for disposal into the Atlantic, the sluice system at the seawall end to allow for water to move into the Atlantic, and the construction of a bridge on the East Coast Public Road, through which the relief channel will pass.