THE residents of Toka, Region Nine, which has a population of approximately 300 persons are overjoyed at the drilling of a new well in their village.

According to Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, who visited the village on May 30, 2021, to witness and inspect works being executed, the well is being drilled with a new rig that was acquired by the Guyana Water Incorporated and executed by its in-house hinterland well- drilling team.

He noted that the overall project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Toka Village Council and entails the installation of four elevated storage tanks, which will be cited on a mountain in the village, a distribution network, a photovoltaic system and new service connections to cover more than 80 per cent of the village. The total cost for this project is G$10M.

Executive Director of Hinterland Services, Ramchand Jailal, stated that the new well is expected to be completed within one week, while the complete water-supply system is scheduled to be completed within three months.

Region Nine Chairman Brian Allicock thanked government for its intervention, noting that the women and children will be particularly happy, since they would no longer have to walk long distances to fetch water.

“There’s a hand-dug well, but when the flood comes water gets into there and it’s not safe for use… so I’m very happy for the people of Toka,” Allicock added.

Michael Mendonca, a Toka Village Councillor, said he is also elated at the success of the drilling to date, as he explained that many previous attempts to have a well dug in the community have proved futile. He highlighted that the materialisation of the water-supply system is very timely, since the village will soon be venturing into eco-tourism.

This is the eighth well to be dug by GWI since the rig was acquired and the fourth for this year. Following its completion, the well-drilling team and the rig will demobilise and shift their attention to Region Seven, where a well be drilled in Five Miles, Bartica. Thereafter, they will head to Region One, where a number of wells are scheduled to be dug as part of government’s 2021 budgetary programme and target to achieve Sustainable Development Goal Six.