With several areas hit by drought, the Region Six Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has taken emergency measures to ensure rice farmers have access to water from the canals for their farms.
Several areas are suffering from the drought, including Moleson Creek, the farmlands at the front of Bloomfield to Number 51 Village, and those located at the back of Number 52 to Number 74 Village.
The regional administration has been linking canals to Canje Creek to ensure the farmers have access to water for farming. Regional Vice Chairman Dennis Deoroop told Stabroek News that the RDC has also begun to clear trenches and canals within the farming areas to improve the access to water for farmers. He noted that many of the canals within the region have been drying up quickly. “We [the regional administration] have been pumping water all the time and it is really challenging right now,” Deoroop said, although he expected that they would be able to be on top of the situation by Saturday.
Deoroop noted that while the RDC has been implementing emergency measures for the affected areas, it has been unable to offer any help to the farmers of the front lands of Number 19 Village and there is nothing that they can do.
He explained that the farmlands there would usually access water from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), however, the corporation has been conserving water for its farmlands. As a result, he noted that the young rice crop would suffer.
According to Deoroop, approximately 200 to 300 acres of rice from the Number 19 Village front lands would suffer as a result of the current dry season.
Deoroop also told Stabroek News that during the course of the last weekend, it was discovered that a siphon at a pump station within the Number 52 Village to Number 74 Village backlands was blocked, which resulted in farmlands within Number 52 Village not getting any access water.
An inspection by members of the Number 52 Village to Number 74 Village Water Users’ Association, uncovered a blockage created using wooden boats and other material. As a result, a bypass had to be dug with the aid of the regional administration.
Percy Parsram, Vice Chairman of the Water Users’ Association, said the farmers had noticed the water not flowing to the canals and subsequently received reports that the siphon was blocked. Parsram said when they visited the pump they learned that persons utilised approximately four dozen tyres and two old wooden 40-ft boats to block the siphon. He stated further that for several weeks the objects used to block the siphon were discarded in close proximity to the pump but no one suspected it was deliberate.
Meanwhile, Gobin Harbhajan, special assistant attached to the Office of the Prime Minister, praised the Water Users’ Association for providing security to the pump station since the discovery. He added that the association has employed a security guard to ensure that there is a free flow of water to all the farmlands. Additionally, he said with the quick response from the regional administration, they have been able to save almost 100% of rice being cultivated in that area.
Deolall noted that Black Bush Polder is not being affected by the current dry spell. He, however, stated that they have been putting measures in place to ensure that the land being cultivated would be saved if need be.
