Theft of winches from critical sluices in Region Three condemn by Agriculture Ministry

The winch that is used to open and close one of the sluices at Nismes, West Bank Demerara
Region Three was stolen. Regional Officials have reported that this matter occurred on Saturday,
November 13, 2021 sometime in the evening,
Subsequently, it was discovered that sometime between Sunday night and early Monday
morning, another winch was stolen from another sluice located in the La Grange/Nismes area.
Officials said that given the location of the structures and the size and weight of the winches,
they believe that is most likely that the person or persons who carried out the heinous acts gained
access to the structures through the Demerara River during high tide.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha is urging persons to desist from such acts. He stressed
that tampering with government structures is a criminal offence, and persons found deliberately
tampering with any such structure, will face the full force of the law.
“It is quite alarming that this has occurred twice in three days. This is very serious and can easily
have a very negative effect on the lives of farmers and residents in these and other surrounding
areas. We will be ramping up our surveillance operations at all of the structures in the region to
try and ensure this does not occur again,” Mustapha noted.
The agriculture minister said the areas that are drained by the structures are now in a very
vulnerable position. He said should there be any heavy rainfall for an extended period, the
structure would not be able to function.
The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has been working with Region Three
officials to remedy the situation. Mustapha noted that sluices are the main structures used to
avert flooding in most of the Coastal Regions in Guyana.