Residents of Yakusari, Black Bush Polder on Wednesday expressed disgust that the floodwater was rising instead of receding even after two long-boom excavators were deployed to clear the blocked channel.
They have lost all of their produce in their cash crop farms, their poultry is dwindling and several acres of rice have already been lost with some still battling to save the rest. Residents of the nearby polder of Johanna are also similarly affected.
The residents voiced their frustration on Saturday when they staged a protest and burned tyres on the road, calling for immediate intervention.
They were dissatisfied that even though the regional administration had deployed two short-boom excavators to clear the blocked outfall channel at No 43 Village, the floodwater remained stagnant in their farms and yards.
Regional Chairman, David Armogan visited the area during the protest and agreed for the two other excavators to start working from the following day.
The residents expected to get relief within a few days but on Wednesday the situation again got out-of-control with them setting tyres alight on the roadway.
Armogan told Stabroek News that the water took a longer time to drain off than expected because the “level of siltation is very high.”
He said that on Wednesday farmers took him to their rice fields on a tractor so that he could have a first-hand look at the situation.
On Thursday a team from the National Drainage & Irrigation Authority (NDIA) met with the famers and after listening to their concerns advised the regional officials to make a track in the channel for immediate relief.
A group of men was also hired to clear the vegetation around the channel while manual cleaning of the internal drainage systems is also being done.