An early morning fire, of origin yet to be determined, gutted two buildings in the city leaving millions of dollars in damage, at least one family homeless,Hockey Jerseys 2018 Cheap, and a number of persons jobless.Reports are that the conflagration, which was first observed shortly before 02:00 hours yesterday, started at the Gold Lion Chinese Restaurant situated at the junction of Camp and D’Urban Streets.The two buildings on fireThis publication was informed that the fire swiftly spread to the Supreme Snacks Food Court located to the west of the building and by the time three fire engines arrived on the scene, both buildings were engulfed.One resident, who lives three buildings away from the inferno, said that he was at home with his wife when he heard some loud explosions that sounded like gunshots.? This, he said, prompted him to peer through a window, at which point he saw fire emanating from the Chinese restaurant.“I just put on me pants and me hat and dash out to see is what really going on,” the man related.He said that a fire tender arrived soon after and firemen started battling to control the fire so that it did not spread.“Three (fire) engines turn up, but like one didn’t even have no water and couldn’t really do nothing at first,” the resident said. He is however confident that the fire service did a “pretty good job” after securing water.Fire Chief Marlon Gentle in an invited comment yesterday said that although investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the fire, it has already been ascertained that the fire started in the upper flat of the Chinese Restaurant.Another fire officer at the scene said that a call was received around 01:50 hrs, and three units were immediately dispatched. The officer said that upon their arrival there were sounds of explosions and fire was already spreading from the Chinese restaurant to adjacent buildings. According to the fire official, it is suspected that the blaze started from the centre of the Chinese Restaurant building.The aftermath of the blazeAmong the homeless are owner of the restaurant, Nigel Ritch, and his family,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, who resided in the upper flat of the Supreme Snacks Restaurant. He estimates his losses to be in excess of $10 million, and close to a dozen of his workers are now contemplating their next employment move.According to the man’s brother,Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic, Richard April, his brother and family started smelling smoke, as the bedroom of the house is situated close to the Chinese Restaurant where the fire started.“By the time they check and decide fuh come out of the building fire start going to their building.”Owner of the Chinese Restaurant, Lieng Hong, said that it was not very long ago that the building housing his business was refurbished,China Adidas Hockey Jerseys, to the tune of some $25 million. The building, according to City Council officials who turned up at the scene yesterday, is owned by one Sugrim.In tears, the restaurateur recalled how he had left his restaurant around midnight for a night club in the city to have a drink with some of his workers. He said it was while on his way to another night spot,Cheap NFL Jerseys, he was stopped by a police patrol and asked for his driver’s licence. It was discovered that his licence had expired two months ago and therefore he was required to head to the Brickdam Police Station. The man said that it was while en route to the station, he was again stopped by a police patrol and asked if he was the owner of the restaurant on Camp Street.Lieng, who has been in business for 12 years, said that he would like to resume his business as soon as possible since it is his only source of income.The father of four said that he has no idea how the fire could have started since his family does not live in the building.And even as smoke continued to billow from sections of the buildings around noon, two police ranks, one armed with a rifle,Supply NFL Jerseys Factory, were tasked with overlooking them.

– amid calls to ensure communities benefit A review of the bauxite sector, to chart the course for continuous expansion saw the two bauxite companies, Bosai and Rusal outlining their projections for 2013.The programme was hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources at the Watooka complex in Linden on Saturday.The audience of major stakeholders from across Region 10, including Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon and Interim Management Committee Chairman Orrin Gordon, were treated to presentations of mining activities conducted by the two companies, over the past year.Gordon, while applauding the companies’ commitment towards expansion, was most vocal about the issue of a farmer at Linden who has occupied the land he is farming on for over 32 years, but still has no lease for the land. The land that Baljit was given surface rights to farm is controlled by RUSAL.Gordon said that he has a problem if the benefits that would accrue to the community from expansion of the bauxite sector, would only be additional jobs.He pointed to the huge craters that are left after mining and said that they need to be filled.Bauxite sector executives and major stakeholders at the Watooka ClubAccording to Gordon, bauxite is a non-renewable resource, and as such steps have to be taken to benefit the community.Those sentiments were echoed by a resident of Coomacka, a community which sits on the periphery of Bosai’s mining operations. The woman said that mining pits left by the company collect water, which over time accumulates and flows over into the nearby Demerara River. This contaminates the water which has to serve the community’s domestic needs, she noted.Member of the Board of Directors of the Geology and Mines Commission, and head of the Bauxite Development Unit, Dunstan Barrow, said that the projected targets by Bosai for 2012 were ‘ambitious’ especially as it relates to stripping.He said that if there is the availability of the requisite equipment, and efficiency is maximized, the company could very well reach its target.Both Rusal and Bosai meanwhile refrained from answering questions by Barrow about the expected financial returns from the projected targets for 2013 by their respective companies.Bosai said it intends to increase production by 35 percent, which will see the company producing 892,944 metric tonnes of bauxite.RUSAL meanwhile projects a 19 percent increase in their production levels,Cheap NFL Jerseys, and hopes to commence mining at Kurubuka in 2014, which is expected to increase the workforce by 10 percent. It anticipates producing 1.8 million tonnes of bauxite overall.While RUSAL blamed the global financial crisis, and high production costs for much of the difficulties the company experienced over the last year, Bosai on the other hand highlighted a multiplicity of challenges.Some of those, the company said, were attributable to poor stripping lead, unavailability of exposed ore, a backhoe which was out of service for five months, prolonged period of rainfall and the protest action in Linden between July and August.Nonetheless, both companies were optimistic of reaching their projected targets for 2013.After the presentations by the two companies, there was an interactive session where stakeholders were provided the opportunity to voice concerns etc.Topping the list of concerns were the environmental aspect as it relates to the backfilling of mined out areas, and the dismissal of 57 workers from Rusal in 2009, and which has not yet seen a resolution.Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon said he was committed to seeing the impasse resolved between RUSAL and the Guyana bauxite and general workers union over the dismissed workers.The latter was of paramount importance, according to Solomon. He also pointed out that the companies need to involve stakeholders more and keep them informed on key issues.Meanwhile IMC chairman Orrin Gordon, reiterated what Solomon said about the dismissed workers issue, and chided Rusal about the possible implications, if the matter is not resolved.According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, in 2012, bauxite production improved significantly,Wholesale Jerseys China, from 1,827,555 metric tonnes in 2011 to 2,Cheap NHL Jerseys,034,811 metric tonnes at the end of November. That was an overall improvement of 25.7 percent relative to the 1,618,483 produced in the period January to November 2011.The Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. produced 1,416, 287 metric tonnes of bauxite, in the period January to November 2012, 5.9 percent more than that which was produced for the whole of 2011 (1,337,Cheap NFL Jerseys China,057 metric tonnes).Bosai Minerals Group (Guyana) Inc. (BMGGI) produced 618,524 metric tonnes between January to November 2012, 26 percent more than for the w