Residents of Canje Creek say that chemicals used by rice farmers are continuing to contaminate their only source of water for drinking and other purposes, resulting in them becoming sick.
The affected residents who are mainly from Tacouba, Manarabisi and Black Bush told Stabroek News that they have been treated at the health centre for “belly pain,” diarrhoea, dermatitis and other medical conditions. They said that the water has changed from its regular dark colour to “white” after the farmers started to occupy the area from the end of last year. One woman said she is “not taking the chance to drink the water (from the creek) any more. I rather bear my thirst….”
The complaints have been ongoing for months. Rice cultivation has expanded in several areas in the wake of the more lucrative Venezuela market.
The woman explained that when they are travelling for long distances in the creek, they would “dip the water and give