KINDLY permit me space in your column to address a matter of grave concern. I have read in your publication of December 31, 2013 (page 8) an article captioned: “NDIA providing expertise to seal dam breach at Airy Hall” and I am disappointed in the reporting.

The farmers’ population and those flooded out could tell you that the dam was not breached as a result of constant rainfall. There is one individual of middle-class status with a few trucks who enjoys the social status with politicians in the region, who in the absence of any manual assistance, attempted to install a PVC tube across the dam in an effort to further facilitate proper drainage and water supply to his land. He underestimated the force and power of water.

When he cut the dam he could not have controlled the force of the water; as a result, he was unable to install his tube and caused detriment to farmers who have to think where they will get the money to start all over again.

It would appear from the article and the statement of Dharamkumar Seeraj, RPA General Secretary at (page 2) of the same publication, that government is inclined to compensate the farmers for this loss.

It is the hope that government will indeed compensate the farmers in terms of what their incomes would have been from their crops and not compensation by seed paddy and fertiliser.
It would seem as though there is a cover-up of the true cause of the breach. The Regional Chairman should do his work and avoid social relations to meddle in the livelihoods of citizens.

KHEMRAJ