Water from the Mahaica River would have to be pumped into farmlands in the Mahaicony area in Region Five in order to cleanse the soil of the salt water that swept across the land during recent spring tides, Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal has said.
He observed that it would be a tedious task and requires a multi-agency approach. Ramphal was asked yesterday to comment on resuscitation of the lands as farmers have not been able to cultivate crops since the lands were flooded by salt water resulting from breaches in the sea defence between Dantzig and Fairfield.
Janaknauth Panchu, in a letter published in today’s Stabroek News, called for urgent action to be taken to flush salt water trapped in the irrigation canals. He noted that salt water has intruded into the irrigation system as far as No. 10 up the Mahaica River.