A lone tractor pump has been functioning in Dochfour since Sunday afternoon but has not managed to relieve the community of floodwaters which have been on the land for 21 days.
The pump is owned by Dochfour rice farmer S. Ally who told Stabroek News that it will take the pump “a while” to move “a bit” of the water off the land. Ally explained that he was contracted by Ministry of Agriculture officials.
When this newspaper visited the area shortly before 2 pm yesterday, the pump was functioning and the water was being pumped from a Dochfour trench into its main drainage canal.
Although residents had suggested the building of a dam along the main drainage canal to increase its capacity so the floodwater could be pumped into it, they are still not optimistic that this will solve their problem.
The dam was completed Sunday afternoon and the pump immediately installed and operations started. While the pump has been working for hours since its installation the water level only receded approximately one and half inches, leaving residents living in Dochfour’s backland with many inches of water to battle.
“I de hear dem de bringing a heavy duty pump in de area so I de surprise when I get de contract,” Ally said. “I hope de pump gone do something bout de situation though.”
Ally, like many other residents over the past few days, said that unless the Hope koker is properly desilted then their situation is unlikely to improve and if it does it will only hold out until it rains again.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) had told Stabroek News on Sunday that the Hope koker was desilted around December 12. However, based on reports from residents and several visits to the koker this newspaper observed that the koker’s outfall has become silted again.
Repeated efforts were made to contact Wordsworth regarding this matter but he was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, several women of Dochfour and Bachelor’s Adventure addressed the media yesterday and raised the issue of the Hope koker and its failure to drain the community.
The groyne
The briefing was organized by the Guyana Citizens’ Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, to give women in these areas an opportunity to voice their concerns about the present disaster affecting them.
Dawn Washington, a resident of Dochfour for almost 49 years, explained that before the Lowe Land Housing Scheme (which is located in the vicinity of Dochfour) was constructed there was a koker located there. According to Washington, that koker had eased some of the strain from the Hope koker.
“The Hope koker needs to be fixed…the slush from the sea is building up there and this is because the koker’s groyne is useless,” Washington said.
The groyne is a protective structure of stone or concrete which extends from shore into the water to prevent the outfall from becoming easily silted. However, residents have stated they are “well aware” that there may be other reasons why the Hope koker’s outfall is so vulnerable to blockage.
Many women among the group said that since the waters submerged the main access road into Dochfour most of the road’s surface has been washed away. In addition to this, canals and trenches in the area are overgrown with vegetation.
Erosion, one farmer’s wife stated, has also played its part in adding soil, which possibly reaches the Hope koker and settles, to the main drainage canal’s water. However, residents maintain that although there are many contributing factors to the koker’s failure they are “positive” that the main fault lies in the groyne.
This situation, residents stressed, must be addressed before the Dochfour situation is improved.
A trickle of help
Various government bodies and non-governmental organisations have been extending help to several East Coast Demerara residents affected by the flood.
A medical team headed by the Ministry of Health was present in the Dochfour area when this newspaper visited. Officials were seen distributing Jeyes fluid, bleach and medical supplies to residents.
Washington also reported that food hampers were distributed to over 80 households in Dochfour. The area, she said, has approximately 342 residents who have suffered severely.
Meanwhile, farmers in the area said that they are expecting some form of compensation for the cash crops and livestock they have lost and are continuing to lose to the floodwaters.
Many men said that they have their hopes pinned on receiving compensation because it provides a little hope for them.
“That is how we know we gon be able to start again for de New Year,” one man stated.
