While floodwaters in some parts of the West Bank Demerara have subsided, residents in other areas are still affected by them and they are calling for urgent attention to be given to alleviating the problem.
Region Three Chairman Julius Faerber had told Stabroek News on Thursday that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority was preparing to deploy excavators to clean canals and trenches to aid with drainage. He said the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) would have also sent workers to manually clean drains, garbage and the trenches.
Residents said that while they did not see any excavators, workers employed by the NDC had started clearing nearby drains and they were grateful that their complaints had been heard.
The residents had lamented that the flash flooding they face whenever it rains had intensified and they were worried not only about the loss of household items but about their health. They stated that their plants and livestock are also threatened by the flooding.
Ann ‘Aunty Ann’ Bowman, of Pouderoyen, had told Stabroek News that the problem is due to the blockage of a main canal in the village as well as the clogging of drains and water outlets in the community. In addition, she explained that the kokers at nea
rby Versailles had been condemned and the villages are now drained some distance away at Phoenix Park. However, the trenches that span that area are filled with weeds and garbage, making drainage difficult. As a result, it takes at a minimum five days for floodwater to be drained and sometimes as long as two weeks if there is continuous rainfall.
Yesterday when Stabroek News revisited the area there was still no sign of any excavators clearing canals. Checks were made in villages from Schoonord to Vreed-en-Hoop and while residents stated that they saw workers “cleaning some drains,” they reported that no mechanised work had been done.
As persons passed in buses and cars, they shouted the names of their villages and asked that they also be visited as they were also affected by flooding.
At Malgre Tout and Pourdroyen, where this newspaper had reported on flooding, water levels were receding.
However, at Vreed-en-Hoop, there were many yards under water.
Surendra Seerita of 7A Public Road complained that the flood water was damaging the foundation of his home. He said that it was already cracking and he was asking that drains in his area be cleaned as he believes this is the main hindrance to water running off the land.
