TWO months ago, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali met with the residents of Ruby Backdam, Region Three, and vowed to improve the infrastructure in the community.

Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar visited the community again and informed the residents that President Ali has delivered on the promise that he made to them, and that construction of roads and bridges is scheduled to start soon.

While meeting with the residents, the minister related that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government is currently inviting bids for the bulk of the projects that are a result of the outreaches that were held in January.

He also said that approximately $218 million is expected to be spent to build the main access road connecting Parika Backdam and Ruby, as well as the Mandir Road and Ruby’s main access road.

In an invited comment, Minister Indar told the Guyana Chronicle that the KI One road is 60 per cent completed and the bridge at the Vergenoegen/Philadelphia area that runs across an irrigation trench is 95 per cent complete.

Minister Indar also said that while he was in the area, he inspected the work that was done by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), and he also ensured that the concerns surrounding the school in the community were dealt with. The NDIA also erected a trestle and water tanks.

The minister further said that he was given the responsibility by President Ali to monitor the agriculture interventions in the community, and “the water users associations are still working themselves out, and today they raised some additional issues with me. It was addressed, and now they will have to get themselves properly organised to deal with the cash crop farmers and the rice farmers. They have to find that balance,” Minister Indar said.

On his way to Ruby, the minister stopped at Greenwich Park, met with some farmers and dealt with some concerns that they had with the drainage in the area.

According to Minister Indar: “The farmers have some rice that is ready to be cut, and the contractor is doing some work in the area, but there isn’t any drainage. They tried to find a spot where they could have put a culvert to drain the water from the community. In doing the project, they had to make some revetment but there have been some delays in the contractor getting the piles and lumber.”

However, because of the holdup in the work with the contractor, Minister Indar said that they will be using an alternate area.

“I’ve told the contractor to speed up the work to get out some of the sand and put some dry sand down and get some compaction, but on the other side, there is another access that we have to get some dirt to put down so that the combine and tractors can have an alternate access so that the farmers can go and cut their paddy at the backdam,” Minister Indar said.

Additionally, being excavated are the Boerasirie channel, the Parika-Ruby distributors, and the internal drains of the Vergenoegen Cooperative Society. The minister was accompanied by technical representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and Public Works.