US$150M CJIA expansion…Yarrowkabra coal-burners protest related sand pit operations

Feb 09, 2014 News

Residents of a Soesdyke/Linden highway community are gearing up for protest action, claiming that their main source of income – coal-burning – is increasingly under threat.
Yarrowkabra, a community of 2000 persons, has since complained to Parliament’s Opposition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change – and it is expected both will take a position this week.

Coal burners of Yarrowkabra are worried about their future after operations started at a sand pit not far away.

At the centre of the issue is a decision to grant contractor, B.K. International, a concession to carry out sand mining last year not far away from a spot where almost 100 persons from the community would work, taking pieces of wood from a nearby operation and turning them into coal. The residents have been using the land for approximately 15 to 20 years now, outside the facility of what was once the glass factory. It is this same land that has been allotted for sand mining purposes.
Following protests last year that ended up in front of the Brickdam offices of Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud, and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the matter had died down and there was no activity until three weeks ago when trucks came in and excavators started to load sand onto them.
The coal-burners are part of an association numbering 50 persons. They too have been applying for years now for the land.
According to AFC executive member Michael Carrington, who is himself a resident of Yarrowkabra, the coal-burners have complained to him. He explained that last year, the contractor was granted the environmental clearance for the concession to mine sand for the US$150M Timehri airport expansion.
“The residents are objecting to the fact that the sand pit is currently a few hundred feet from where they are operating. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes will be needed for the airport and eventually the pit will have to be extended. I am personally of the belief that the area given to BK should be left for an industrial site development. It was always in the works for that.”
Another issue that Carrington has is the fact that the road that the contractor will use to transport the sand is the main one linking the Soesdyke/Linden highway to the airport.

The sand pit operated by BK International. In the background is the Bulkans’ wood facility with the coal burners’ operations located just adjacent to it.

“We are saying that there are other sites along the highway that the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission could have given to BK (the contractor) for a sand pit. Another issue is that the pit is too close to the road. You cannot dig sand and leave a big pit next to the road…that will damage it.”
The AFC executive made it clear that not much consultation was held before the decision for the concession.
“There was a meeting on the environmental permit and it ended almost in a fight. We had asked the Natural Resources Minister to visit, but he never came.”
The coal-burners, who use the scrap pieces of wood from the nearby Bulkans’ sawmill and shingle business for the coals, said that after noticing that the new sand pit was opened and had started operations, they visited the offices of the Natural Resources Minister over a week ago where a senior official indicated that there is nothing that can be done now, as the contractor had acquired the land legally.
“He suggested that we visit BK. There we were told that they will not trouble us. But we have been applying for years now for the same land and now we don’t know what will happen next.”
The land that BK has starts from the fence of the Bulkans’ facility, and this is another serious concern expressed by the coal-burners who are worried about the foundation and the nearby water tower which could collapse.
Philip Cummings, one of the coal-burners who have been operating there for years, said that the association has a forestry concession.
“We have applied for this land to help us with storage, but there is no word. Yet we are now being threatened.”
Many of the residents and coal-burners remain fearful of being thrown off the land.
Shondel Hope, a regional councillor for APNU, visited the area and said that decision for the sand pit is huge shame as the coal-burners are inclusive of about 40% women, many of them single parents.
“They told me that they have applied for this very land. GGMC and Lands and Surveys keep turning them down. Yarrowkabra is a community that depends heavily on this operation for money. How can they start over? It is the main economic base. There are children and senior citizens who depend on what is happening here for a living.”
Hope, who will be reporting to APNU’s leadership on the issue, says that the Opposition faction is expected to come out with a statement shortly.