THE Guyana Lands & Surveys Commission, yesterday, made clear that the land BK International Inc. acquired for small-scale sand operation was allocated for reserve sand mining since construction of the Glass Factory at Yarrowkabra, in 1979.

Guyana Chronicle had contacted Chief Executive Officer of BK International Inc., Mr. Brian Tiwari, for a comment regarding the Yarrowkabra Coal Miners Association operating on the allocated plot, and was told that the Guyana Lands & Surveys Commissioner, Mr. Doorga Persaud, had made a statement in the media regarding the lands allocated for sand mining.
The Yarrowkabra Glass Factory had been constructed in 1979 and was opened on December 24, 1984 with some 200 workers. After the factory had been poorly utilised and there had been very little manufacturing of glass, the equipment developed a number of operational problems and operations at the factory ceased.
In 1996, Bulkan Timber Works acquired the Yarrowkabra Glass Factory complex and commenced a wood product operation there. A few years later, single parents of Yarrowkabra began their coal burning business nearby, using the discarded waste materials emanating from the Bulkan Timber Works. This coal burning activity budded into a small wood product development project which sought regularisation in 2007 but was served with a removal order from the Guyana Forestry Commission.
The land reserved for the Glass Factory to mine sand reverted to the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), and BK International Inc. sought permission to develop 19.5 acres with a deposit of 20 feet to commence a small scale sand-mining operation to supply the three road and airport expansion projects with materials.
BK International Inc’s application was opposed by the Bulkan Timber Works on the basis that there was no environmental impact assessment done, and that it was likely that BK’s operation would damage a number of sensitive computerised equipment owned by Bulkan Timber Works.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Environmental Assessment Board (EAB) met with Bulkan Timber Works and BK International Inc. in a public consultation with the expectation that Yarrowkabra residents and other concerned parties would have made presentations for and against the BK proposals.
That public consultation was brought to an abrupt end after heated words were exchanged between the residents, Bulkan Timber Works and BK International Inc. workers.
The environmental Assessment board then sought a meeting to bring clarity to the number of unanswered questions; and upon concluding that meeting, a report was forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where the final decision was made to give BK Inc. permission to operate the sand mine at Yarrowkabra.
Thereafter, the Yarrowkabra Coal Miners Association mounted a protest exercise outside the offices of the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission on Brickdam.
The Yarrowkabra Coal Miners Association has been seen as an illegal entity, based on the removal permit it had received from the Guyana Lands & Surveys Dept.