Ogle fisherfolk to benefit from dredging works, road upgrades
Fishermen operating on the Ogle outfall on the East Coast Demerara will soon see an ease in their operations, road upgrades, dredging works, and other interventions are slated for this area.
President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Saturday engaged with the fisherfolk, where he committed to these interventions.
The president was informed that there are approximately 35 boats operating at the outfall, and some fisherfolk lamented that the area is congested.
Fishermen who were operating at Montrose were forced to move their operations to Ogle because of the blockage in that area.
In response, President Ali committed to dredging works at the Montrose channel to free up additional space.
“In about three to four weeks, because we need time to mobilise, we will finish dredging Montrose,” he said.
Notably, the president was told that strong currents generated by the pumps operating in the area made docking a struggle for many fishermen. Regarding this, the president pledged the construction of ramp, and encouraged them to collaborate on a trailer design for easier boat retrieval.
“We will do the ramp. If we build the ramp, you can just reel the boat up…and you all have to be innovative. Come together as a group and make one of those trailers to pull the boat up,” the head of state explained.
Other persons also pointed to the dire state of the road, noting that it has posed challenges to their operations.
“This road here, we have to fix it. So we will have a team come and look at this. At least we should bring it up to some crush stone surface. We will do it through the Ministry of Public Works, and we will try to start it in the new week,” the president told the fisherfolk.
The president also visited the Mon Repos market, where he engaged with vendors and listened to their concerns.
President Ali was accompanied by Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag, and Ministry within the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Anand Persaud.