Torrential rains have not had a great impact on the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region with the exception of farmers and some infrastructure, the Regional Executive Officer (REO) Carl Parker has said.
Speaking to this newspaper last Thursday, Parker said although most of the region has experienced flooding since the rainy season began last month, only a few persons were directly affected.
“We have flooding in almost every section of the region but the issue here is that water is rising and falling and it comes up higher with every fall. That is natural in the Rupununi, it’s nothing strange,” he added.
However, he stated that low-lying farming areas are being inundated as a result of consistent rainfall and overflowing rivers. He added that agriculture officers are currently conducting damage assessments across the region before saying as soon as he receives the report from the officers, he will be able to say how many families are affected.
In addition, Parker disclosed, roads across the region are being damaged by the intense rainfall. “Movement around the villages is affected but that is ideal for us in the COVID-19 situation. The rains are helping us to enforce the stay-home policy but it can get worse if the rain intensifies because infrastructure is being destroyed, like the roads, bridges and so on and the indication is there that that will happen, with the rainy season just beginning,” he stated.
Further, he stated although travel from Lethem to Georgetown has been affected, there is a possibility that small vehicles will be allowed to use the Manari Bridge this weekend. He noted that the bridge was not yet completed but the contractor was seeking advice from engineers in Georgetown before they could allow persons to use it.
Meanwhile, Parker said he is happy to report that most persons in the region have been adhering to the COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Public Health.
“By large most of our residents are adhering to the guidelines but, of course, there will always be a few but I think we have a major success by residents abiding by those guidelines,” he said.
Parker added that due to the Takutu River being flooded and the river current being very strong, persons have ceased crossing the Guyana/Brazil border. He said that persons can only cross the river if they have boats but the police have been doing their part to ensure that no one illegally crosses the river. “We have had some instance of persons operating boats on the river and the police have seized a few so we on the lookout for that but crossing is not easy because the river is bank to bank. The current is very strong, so I don’t think anybody is going to take that chance,” he stated before adding that the rainy season has placed limitations on many activities in a good way.
