With heavy rainfall being predicted for this year’s May/June rainy season, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha said that he has instructed the engineers under the purview of his ministry to ensure all structures are operable as they continue maintenance of key drainage systems across the country.
At a recent event, Mustapha said the works being carried out now are part of the ministry’s year-round work schedule to ensure there is sufficient drainage capacity across the country.
He noted that in the city, which has been prone to flooding, he has given instructions for three engineers to be assigned to the city. The engineers are responsible, he said, for providing real time updates on the functionality of the pumps, sluices and outfalls.
The Minister noted that this is a precautionary step they are taking since it will allow them to repair and remedy any breaches that arise during inspections.
Nonetheless, he cautioned that despite putting systems in place to reduce flooding disasters, there are still chances some areas will accumulate water due to the high intensity of rainfall in short periods.
“Our drainage system is designed to take off only so much water at a time. So you will find that the system cannot cope when there is rainfall with high intensity,” he said.
Additionally, the minister said that they are encouraging farmers in Pomeroon, Essequibo, to engage in block drainage to protect their farms and cultivation from being flooded.
“We have implemented that since last year and what we have seen in those area that we have implemented block drainage is less and less flooding,” he stated.
He also expressed the hope that the dredging exercise currently being undertaken will allow them to see less flooding as well.
“I think the flooding would be very very minimal. I am very optimistic and we will continue to work in certain areas [to reduce flooding],” he said.
Intense rainfall during this period last year resulted in nationwide flooding devastating the livelihoods of families. In some areas water levels rose to as much as 14 feet and lingered for days, forcing families to endure discomfort and in many instances being forced out of their homes.
Across the nation, families had to be housed in shelters set up by the Civil Defence Commission for weeks and in a few instances months.
