Floodwaters in the Mahaica and Mahaicony creeks and surrounding areas rose yesterday although rainfall has reduced and persons expressed their frustration at the worsening situation.
Residents insisted that this was owing to the release of water from the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) through the Maduni sluice and said that some areas had as much as five feet of water.
When contacted, a farmer in Little Baiboo on the Mahaica River told this newspaper that between Sunday and yesterday the water had risen by at least three inches and now the lower flat of his home was flooded when it had not been so before.
Another farmer said that it had risen by four inches and water on the land in some places was as high as five feet. He said that in some places the water from the creek was running over the embankment built to protect farms from high water in the creek.
One farmer at Big Baiboo, who was still trying to save his crop, said he was promised assistance in doing so by Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, who visited the area yesterday. He said that he had been pumping the water off the land round the clock.
Another farmer at Gordon Table, Mahaicony said he was trying to save his rice crop but the water had covered it and the high spots that his animals normally occupied were covered too. “We fed up in this place,” he stated.
This newspaper was told that embankments built on the right bank of the Mahaicony were giving way under the water, compounding the situation. Several farmers told this newspaper that they had given up and given their experience, when the water remained on the land for a long time, they would welcome any help they could get. They felt that authorities, who visited the area, did not really understand their situation.
Meantime, a press release from the Agriculture Ministry last evening said that Persaud and a team of technical officers had visited the Mahaica and Mahaicony Creek areas to meet farmers and residents “affected by the current heavy rainfall, particularly in the upper reaches of the creeks.”
The release made no mention of the releasing of water from the EDWC, through the Maduni Sluice, which many farmers blamed for the excessive flooding. On Sunday, the EDWC commission announced that high levels of water in the conservancy had forced it to release water through the Maduni Sluice into the Mahaica Creek “as a last resort to avoid a major catastrophe”.
This had begun on Saturday at low tide, the commission said in a press release. It had stated that the discharge through Maduni would last for a 24-hour period and would only take place during the low tide so as to have minimum impact on the residents who live in the upper reaches of the Mahaica River.
Farmers in both creeks had alleged on Saturday that water was being released through the Maduni since Friday or even earlier. Some had then video-taped the release of water through the Maduni as evidence to present to the public. Up to Saturday there had been no word from the Ministry of Agriculture or the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) about the release; and the minister also did not acknowledge this, when the issue was raised with him yesterday, farmers said. They have stated that they should have been told immediately of any discharge of water through the Maduni.
The Agriculture Ministry release stated yesterday that Persaud has instructed that critical interventions be undertaken to minimize the effects of heavy rainfall and to safeguard crops and livestock. According to the release, he said farmers will be assisted to relocate their livestock to higher ground. He also noted that several teams of veterinary and crop officers have been deployed to affected communities to treat affected animals and provide technical assistance to farmers.
Further, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) will also be monitoring the situation closely and will provide advice and other forms of support to rice farmers to protect threatened crops, the release stated. In addition, it said, the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/Agricultural Develop-ment Authority, the GRDB and the Guyana Rice Producers Association will conduct an assessment to provide additional support to farmers to reduce water accumulated in cultivated areas.
“Minister Persaud also briefed farmers and residents on short and long term interventions to deal with the above normal rainfall which included the deployment of government excavators and pumps to ensure cultivation areas are speedily drained,” the release stated.
