Due to heavy rainfall, the overflowing of the Canje Creek and poor drainage several Region Six villages remained flooded yesterday afternoon leaving many with huge losses and bitter at the various neighborhood democratic councils (NDCs).
Rice, cash crop and cattle fields and pastures are still submerged in various areas throughout the region with farmers reporting that they are losing animals daily since the flood which started in some areas two weeks ago.
As of yesterday afternoon there were reports of heavy flooding in New Forest, East Canje Berbice, East Bank Berbice, Central Corentyne and Upper Corentyne areas.
Residents of Port Mourant are currently facing above-knee-high water which as of yesterday afternoon was continuing to rise. According to them, they were initially told by the neighbourhood democratic council that priority had to be paid to the Babu Jaan cemetery instead of the residential area.
On Saturday, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha visited the area and told the residents that he does not see the point of this as he had ordered that works be carried out immediately to assist the residential area.
One resident, Chanmattie Babulall, who operates a snack stand in front of her house was forced to continue to sell as this was one of her main incomes despite the shop being flooded. She said, “Me got to sell wah me go do, me got to sell.”
According to the woman, had the NDC acted in the initial stages of the flood then the situation might have been different. An upset Babulall told Stabroek News that when she contacted an official at the NDC concerning the flood he told her “you a live from people house, na bother me with flood.”
She said, they had an argument and she left returning home to her flooded stand and house.
Further, according to the woman, while the heavy rainfall may have caused the flooding, persons from around the area would go to the back of the village and dump their garbage and this may have contributed to the situation.
Yashoda Shivdin, 25, and Nalinie Ragnauth, 21, of Port Mourant explained that their lower flat has been flooded for over three days. Presently, the water is above the knee in the women’s kitchen.
Keep raising
Shivdin said, “The water keep raising all the time and nobody ain’t doing nothing.”
Additionally, the young woman, a livestock farmer, relayed that her ducks are also flooded out. “When we go find out what happening them say the irrigator got to go and drain the burial ground water first before they drain here water.”
However, she noted that “We have proper drainage here so we surprise that it keep raising. We always have flood in May – June but it never raise to this level.”
She reported that she had lost about 15 ducks and some household items so far.
On Saturday, in New Forest, East Canje Berbice which is located next to the Canje Creek, two cattle farmers who had just returned from the backlands said, “This flood causing terrible damage man, terrible damage.”
According to one of the men, he has already lost several sheep with others stranded in the area. “This water deh about three weeks now, this water na go down and abbay cow a dead out, sheep a dead out and abbay can’t do nothing.”
The men said, that they were in need of any sort of assistance from the government.
Another resident, Vedwattie Mathura also of New Forest pleaded with Mustapha who visited the area on Saturday to have a machine “crown the dam at the back there to avoid the Canje Creek water from coming in.”
According to residents, the Canje Creek has been overflowing in several areas worsening the situation.
Creek water
The woman said that she had over 200 livestock and has suffered a huge loss since the flood started about two weeks now. “This cause by the creek water coming and with the rain both a them hit abbay the same time”, she stressed.
She reported that she lost two goats and a huge number of chickens since the flood.
Another resident from the area reported that a rice field is located behind of her house and “just the water raise it come over so it want crown a back there.”
Mustapha ordered that a machine be sent to the area to carry out the necessary emergency works.
Over at the Number 19 Village, Corentyne, residents reported that their chicken pens had flooded and caused them to suffer losses as well. In that area residents complained bitterly that the neighbourhood democratic council was not doing any work in her area. “Nothing them na do, nothing”, she charged.
One woman, Malinie Inderdatt, said, “Me whole chicken pen flood out, me had about 100 and something… Everything me had deh died. Abbay na get drainage and since rain fall the water lodge.”
According to the woman, “three time now them a clean (trenches in the village) but them na clean this (the one located next to her).”
Another resident told Stabroek News that the Regional Democratic Council needs to ensure that the projects for cleaning and maintaining canals are given to residents within the area. “When them give it to people who na live here, we don’t know them but if they give it to somebody here then we can watch them and tell them something”, he said.
In that area Mustapha made several interventions.
Over at Kilcoy/Chesney Housing Scheme, Corentyne, the residents reported that there seemed to be a breakaway from the sideline embankment causing the water to overflow from another flooded area where GuySuCo was pumping water.
One resident, Bickram Dhanraj, a poultry farmer, said, “This deh about four days now and it start raise more high a go. At present now me lost 60 fowl and over 150 egg wah hatch out deh, all drowning because me place duck.”
Another resident, who operates a grocery store said that he was forced to move his freezer and supplies to higher ground after he noticed the water quickly rising. “The shop duck, me can’t open shop right now”, the man relayed.
A machine has since been located to the area to carry out the emergency works.
Meanwhile, residents at the back of Manchester Village, Corentyne reported that they, too, suffered losses as they pleaded with Mustapha who visited to look into the possibility of assisting with cleaning items and some support.
One woman said that she along with others lost over two dozen chickens each.
Meanwhile, as of yesterday machines and pumps continue to work throughout the region, while Mustapha remained on the ground visiting flood-affected communities and making interventions since Friday. Also, on Wednesday last he visited the Black Bush Polder area with Prime Minister Mark Phillips.
Mustapha on Saturday explained that in New Forest a machine has been placed to “do empoldering work and we will doing some remedial works on the sluices there that will drain some water”, as he noted, that the Canje Creek is overflowing into the areas that are already affected by heavy rainfall.
“I think we can resolve that situation because the water started to recede and I’m hoping in another few days the work we are doing in New Forest, Canje, we can get the water there to recede tremendously”, he opined.
He relayed, that at Kilcoy/Chesney a machine has been placed to carry out works on the sideline embankment so as to block the water from entering the residential area, “at the same time we will close off all those intakes from the tubes that lead to the housing scheme and then we will install a new pump and drain the water.”
However, he opined that one of the most affected areas is Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Corentyne. “People there are severely affected and we had pumped their place yesterday to drain water and we will be putting an additional two pumps to drain excessive water there.”
The minister also said that he noticed that the neighbourhood democratic council has not been cleaning the area, “because there is a lot of garbage … and I am appealing to residents there to desist from throwing garbage into the drainage canal and that is impeding the flow of water but you know for a fact that is a problem across the country, and we will be working with the local authority and the people around the country to resolve that issue.”
Furthermore, the minister stressed, that the sluice at Letter Kenny Village, Corentyne is working and they have placed a pump there to work whenever the sluice is closed so as to assist the surrounding areas.
He also said that a drainage pump has been placed at Whim.
Touching on complaints from residents against the neighbourhood democratic councils, Mustapha said that the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority will have to step in and work overtime to complete these works now.
“Our resources are stretched now across the country”, he stressed.
He pointed out that he had received a number of complaints from residents at Number 19 Village, Corentyne, “We will be doing some remedial works and place an additional pump at Number 19 and do some empoldering.”
He also noted, that he has brought all of his agencies together including GuySuCo so that they can quickly deal with the matter. “Now we are revamping and recapitalizing GuySuCo and before time GuySuCo use to take care of the drainage needs of the communities but because of GuySuCo’s state now … we will have to work together and help them too to ensure. As a matter of fact I have from the Ministry of Agriculture given GuySuCo some machinery to do work in their areas so that they can build embankment for water not to come in their cultivation also.”
Meanwhile, the floodwater continued to rise in Black Bush Polder yesterday causing residents to become even more frustrated at the situation. Nathaniel Ledra from Mibicuri North relayed that they had to move their fowl pen to a relative’s veranda after they discovered three snakes with one killing one of their chickens.
Yesterday afternoon he told this newspaper, “It raise a little more after the rain and it keep raising. Them say they take a machine to block the dam at the back.”
Ledra said he believes that had the neighbourhood democratic council drained the water before the savannah water hit them then the situation might not have been at this stage, stressing, that he believes the NDC has failed the residents in that area.
President Irfaan Ali on Saturday afternoon ordered that three new pumps be placed at Adventure to drain the backlands in Black Bush Polder in his efforts to save the cattle stuck at the location. He had said that the pumps should be at the location by today.
