Faced with continuous flooding that has given rise to fears of an outbreak of water-borne diseases, Enmore North residents are awaiting a promised intervention by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to bring an end to their woes.
The community’s drainage pump has been down for almost three months and this has forced the residents to trek through flooded yards on a daily basis even after several days without any rain. They say that despite appeals to the contractor responsible for the pump’s maintenance, nothing has been done.
As a result, several residents visited the NDIA on June 18th and spoke with Chief Executive Officer Lionel Wordsworth, who promised to provide some relief by today.
Wordsworth confirmed this to Stabroek News during a telephone interview. He explained that the authority is trying to effect some repairs to the pump, which was installed in 2005, while also currently looking at alternative measures to provide the residents with some immediate relief in the interim. “This includes sourcing a temporary pump to drain the water that has built up,” he said.
During a visit by Stabroek News to the small community, which is located a few meters from the Enmore seawall, floodwater was visible in several yards. The most severely affected was Chowcoomarie Heralall, a 39-year-old mother of one, who lived with her husband and an extended family of six, including four small children. Her yard was filled with stagnant water that exuded a pungent odour.
Heralall was concerned about the well-being of her 13-year-old son, who has already suffered a foot infection after walking through the nasty waters for the past several weeks. She is also concerned for the other children living with her and the rest of the street. According to Heralall, the floodwater has mixed with the sewage from the pit toilet in her yard, which makes it even more disgusting. She pointed to her livestock that is still alive but fears that they may soon die out, like the 25 hens she has already lost. Security guard and pump attendant Surujden Ramcharran, also a resident of the area, said that it has been one year since the pump has been experiencing severe mechanical problems, plaguing the area with flooding and causing the blame to be cast on him.
Ramcharran said that the community would rely on GuySuCo’s pumps but they have been under repairs for the past two months, leaving the community without the option for relief. He went on to show the extensive work that GuySuCo undertook to block up the canals and trenches to prevent water from flowing out into the koker that is currently closed. He said that he is no expert mechanic but he was sure of what the problems were, starting with a leaky hydraulic hose as well as a leaking radiator, two batteries that don’t work and three years of continuous use without being serviced. He said that the pump had given him much stress and he’s even upset that he had to spend much of his own money to pay for phone calls to the contractors responsible for the pump, only to receive abuse from them.
The residents are now hoping that the NDIA acts swiftly to deliver them from this episode of disaster in their lives.
