…residents pin blame on koker attendant

RESIDENTS of Riverview and Alexander Village, Georgetown, early Wednesday morning woke up to find their yard being inundated as a result of a koker attendant reportedly falling asleep, leaving the koker door open.

The flooding, which occurred just after midnight, has left millions of dollars’ worth of equipment damaged for residents of the two communities and City Mayor Patricia Chase-Green has assured them that an investigation has been launched into the matter.
She described the situation on Wednesday as “unfortunate and sad” and noted that during her walk through of the two communities, she had observed “lots of damages”[sic]. “Whose fault it is, we will determine that before the day is over,” Chase-Green told reporters. “I was told that the koker door was jacked…that’s all I am prepared to say right now…but a full investigation would be launched,” she assured.
Similarly, Town Clerk Royston King told reporters that the Council regrets the unfortunate circumstance which has resulted in widespread flooding in the two communities, due to what he termed “overtopping.” King said, “Many of them [residents] have been inconvenienced as a result of what has happened…we have already called for an investigation into the matter.”

Attempts to contact the mayor, town clerk or the public relations officer on Wednesday afternoon proved futile.

However, residents were quite convinced that it was the koker attendant’s falling asleep that caused the flooding. “I was coming home from wake at 12:00hrs and I noticed that the water was coming in from Ruimveldt station area…so when we daughter look now, we see the koker door open …it went high … when we come home rinse out we skin…we hear get up, get up like this man sleep away and left the koker door open. So said so done…by the time we knock at the door the water done start coming in …the most we get fuh do is put up the chair them…” said an Alexander Village resident.
A teacher from the same community asked who is going to compensate her family for their losses. “Everything in my house is damaged right now, the chairs, the fridge, the vanity, the computer … I am a teacher that [computer] is one of my main tools. Who is going to reimburse me these things? It is no fault of ours but the fault of the guy at the koker,” the frustrated teacher said. She explained that she was forced to have her young daughter sit on her verandah for hours, so as to prevent her from being in contact with the dirty water.

Another affected resident, Travis Spencer, recounted the ordeal: “We wake up this morning and suddenly a whole set of water keep rushing in, fridge, TV, nearly fall down, chair set wet up and damage… all in the fridge get water. I had to run and leave work to ensure my stuff pack up.”

Meanwhile, another affected resident said he was almost electrocuted Wednesday morning as all of his electrical appliances were covered by the water. “By the time I wake up, everything under water,” the frustrated man said, as he carried his young daughter on his back. Many of the affected families questioned how they would be able to replace their damaged items and whether they would receive any form of compensation. “When I was sleeping, my neighbour phone and call me and tell me the place is flood. When I get up and run downstairs, the place was flooded. We started to pick up things and when we go on the street, it was flooded, plenty, plenty water,” said a Riverview resident known as ‘Aunty.’

Florence Nagamootoo told reporters that “the koker man does drink…they don’t do their work there” as she displayed all of the damaged items in her house. “The scene was like we living in the Demerara River…sleeping and get a phone call that the yard flood…when we jump off the bed is in the water. I see big, big water in the house, we had to lift up the fridge and everything,” said another resident.