Black Bush Polder, Corentyne will benefit from two new pump stations in 12 to 14 months to assist with drainage and irrigation.
This was disclosed by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during an outreach on Saturday.
During a series of meetings last Saturday in Johanna, Mibicuri, Lesbeholden and Yakusari, Mustapha made the pronouncement, according to a press release yesterday from the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Two new pump stations will be built in Black Bush Polder. Those projects are currently being advertised so within another 12 to 14 months, Black Bush Polder will have two brand new pump stations. One will give you irrigation water and the other will give you drainage. These pump stations form part of the government’s overall developmental agenda for agriculture in the region. Agriculture is very important to us and so is Black Bush Polder,” Mustapha said, according to the release.
Although water levels in the farming and residential areas have receded significantly, areas in the backlands like the Kokerite savannahs that are designated cattle pastures, are still flooded.
The minister also told residents that his ministry, through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is working to have those areas drained as soon as possible. He told residents that those waters have to pass through the main canals and that a careful system has to be observed to ensure areas in the front lands do not become flooded again. The release said that he also told residents that gauges will be installed in the main canals to ensure water levels remain low to avoid overtopping and further instances of flooding.
“There is a lot of water in the backlands in the cattle pasture. That water still has to pass through the main canals. We’ll continue to put systems in place. We have additional pumps at Number 43 Village. The technical officers are also working to develop a system to drain the backlands without flooding the farming and residential areas in the front lands. Like I mentioned before, all the water has to pass through these canals and we have to be very careful. The forecast has predicted that we’ll be having more rains so we have to ensure that the main drains are low. I’ve instructed the NDIA to install gauges in the drains so that residents can know and monitor the water level in these canals. These gauges will be installed within another two weeks. People should not keep water in these drainage canals as a reservoir because when it overtops persons in the residential and farming areas will be flooded,” Mustapha told residents.
Mustapha also said that his ministry intends to establish an independent drainage canal for Johanna. He also told residents that in the long term, the government intends to establish a drainage structure similar to the one located in the Hope Canal on the East Coast, in Black Bush Polder.
“When we were in government, prior to 2015, we had started that project. We’d already started some work. NDIA has been working to resuscitate that structure. We are also looking to establish a bigger structure because Black Bush Polder is a very critical area for agricultural development in Region Six”, he said.
