Dear Editor,
The Chief Hydrometeorological Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings is quoted in a Monday newspaper article titled, ‘Farmers urged to prepare for May-June rainy season’, as saying inter-alia, “Farmers and residents are advised to make the necessary provisions as major flooding in several part of the country is predicted during the May-June rainy season.” Editor, I write to bring attention to a most-worrying situation in the capital city of a blocked-up primary drainage canal – the Dennis Street Canal.
Works have been ongoing for the building of concrete revetments and concrete drains for the longest while, however works clearly have come to a standstill based on a visit I made on Tuesday 16th of April, 2024. As seen in the included photographs I took, there was no sign that anything is being done to prepare for the May-June rainy season which Hydromet has warned about, not only by way of Dr. Cummings words mentioned earlier but also in their seasonal outlook for April-June, which predicts an above-normal rainy season.
This major primary drainage canal is blocked up for construction works, silted up and overgrown with vegetation in some areas. The Dennis Street canal drains most of the Eastern section of Georgetown, including Lamaha Gardens, Prashad Nagar, Campbellville, Kitty, Newtown and Bel Air Park. If this canal is not cleared promptly, residents of these areas are going to see the worst flooding ever. The El Nino phenomenon has come to an end and the drought here is also close to an end, based on both our local weather forecasting authority and international weather agencies’ outlooks.
I wonder if the relevant infrastructure authorities here are hoping that the dry season will continue for a longer period and hence are not pushing to have these works completed urgently. As I write this letter, I am seeing that Dubai, UAE is experiencing unprecedented flooding due to rain. I shudder to think of what would happen if urgent action is not taken to clear not only the Dennis Street Canal in Georgetown, but all other important drainage infrastructure in this here ‘Little Dubai’.
Sincerely,
Dwayne Hackett
