Dear Editor,
The residents of Land of Plenty and Mainstay woke me up about 5:00 am yesterday to complain that their yards and houses were flooded and they wanted me to put it in the press since I usually write letters of concern in Stabroek News which are addressed after they have been published. Editor, I am the Essequibo Chronicle Reporter but my articles are being published only every second Tuesday in the week and since this is a critical matter facing the residents of these areas, I have decided to pen it to your newspaper so it can catch the eyes of the relevant ministry or those who are in authority in Region Two.
The residents told me that for the past three weeks the pump which was placed next to the Mainstay koker has been out of order for want of spares, fuel and a filter. This matter was reported to the management of the drainage and irrigation department and the regional administration but nothing has been done to arrest the situation. A new koker door was also built by contractor Mr Roopan Ramoutar over the past two weeks since sea water was seeping through the old door at the bottom and the sides causing more floods but no one in authority was available to see that the new door is placed correctly.
Hence, the new door is yet to be installed. Several complaints were made to the Anna Regina Town Council about the clogged up drains and trenches leading to the Mainstay pump and koker but nothing has been done. The Mayor and his councilors have not been seen in these villages since the local government elections and the residents do not know which councilor is responsible for their area and who they can complain to when they have a problem affecting them. At rice sowing time the farmers will release water from their fields which will come into the housing areas and with the advent of the rains their yards, house gardens and crops are flooded.
After receiving their complaints, I decided to visit the areas. I saw some of them bailing out water from their bottom flats with buckets, their crops had begun to wither and die and their livestock were taken to higher ground so they can survive. The drain diggers which were brought into this region are either idle or inefficiently utilized. Both the koker and the pump at Mainstay have for the past few years been discharging water well below capacity. The drainage and irrigation systems malfunction and operate inefficiently because of inadequate maintenance or failure to correct some minor fault thus causing hardship on the people. They are not fully utilized by the regional administration, the drainage and irrigation department and the Town Council.
Since the coalition government assumed office, millions of dollars have been spent on sea defences, river defences, pumps and drainage and irrigation systems. Government has made massive investments in all these areas to avoid flooding. The regional administration must now ensure that the people get real benefits from these investments. With so much attention being paid to infrastructure, it may come as a surprise that the majority of people in this region are not receiving it.
These affected residents of Land of Plenty/Mainstay told me that “When they are flooded out, they lose everything and they feel it everywhere”. They are faced with the same reality that there are natural and opposition forces that work against them. They will now speak with a shared voice.
Yours faithfully,
Mohamed Khan