The Ministry of Agriculture’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) yesterday began cleaning the clogged trenches at Versailles in an effort to bring relief to persons flooded at Pouderoyen and Malgre Tout, on the West Bank of Demerara.
“The NDIA will [be] bringing some excavators to clean the trenches at Ver-sailles, etcetera, to [address] the problem… The NDC will also be clearing the internal drains to assist in getting off the water to the river,” Region Three Chairman Julius Faerber told Stabroek News yesterday.
The villagers’ plight was highlighted in yesterday’s edition of Stabroek News after a visit to the areas on Wednesday.
Residents yesterday said that while they did not see excavators, workers employed by the Neighbour-hood Democratic Council had started clearing nearby drains and they were grateful that their complaints had been heard.
Residents of both Pouderoyen and Malgre Tout had complained about worsening flooding during rainfall, while saying there had been no response from regional authorities.
They lamented that the flash flooding they face whenever it rains has intensified and they were worried not only about the losses of household items but about their health. They stated that their plants and livestock are also threatened by the flooding.
Ann ‘Aunty Ann’ Bowman had told Stabroek News that the problem is due to the blockage of a main canal in the village by a rice farmer as well as the clogging of drains and water outlets in the community. This, she said, was due to the laxity of both the NDC and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), which have been ignoring their pleas that the drains and trenches be cleaned.
In addition, she explained that the kokers at nearby Versailles had been condemned and the villages’ are now drained villages away at Phoenix Park. However, the trenches that span that area are filled with weed and garbage, making drainage difficult. As a result, it takes at a minimum five days for floodwater to be drained from flooded yards and sometimes as long as two weeks if there is continuous rainfall.
