Following the protest action that residents in Region Five (Demerara-Mahaica) took on Monday to vent their
Farmers and residents suffering at Union, Region Five
frustration over the ongoing flood crisis, measures have since been taken by the authorities to alleviate the situation.
On Tuesday, Guyana Times was told that several communities continued to be affected by floodwaters, as many homes, notably in Union, were under water. Meanwhile, at Baiboo, along the Mahaicony River, farmers complained that they too were being affected by the floodwaters. Farmers in riverine areas, along the Mahaicony River, are requesting relief from the Government.
While the situation at Blairmont was said to be “fairly good”, this publication was told that Bush Lot continued to be affected. This is due to the reportedly weed-clogged drains
Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal explained that the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), and National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) installed tractor-driven pumps in the Trafalgar and Union areas.
Acting NDIA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Frederick Flatts stated that these pumps combined have the capacity to drain approximately 1200 gallons of water per second. According to Flatts, there are four tractor-driven pumps draining the residential areas, and two excavators cleaning the canals and drains of debris.
Meanwhile, the Government Information Agency (GINA) on Tuesday quoted General Manager of the MMA/ADA, Aubrey Charles, as saying that pumps were “working continuously” to drain the land.
Charles, who was said to be on the ground engaging farmers and affected residents, explained that downpours of rain caused the floodwaters to rise.
“The water has risen in a couple of the villages so I’m out in the field here, now at Litchfield going down in the backdam. The pumps can’t deal with the amount of water,” the General Manager explained.
“The pump at Mora is an irrigation pump, that pump is not working, that is only to bring water into the system. The pump at Pine Ground is working. We can’t use the pump at Mora Point because it is a fixed pump to bring water into the system, it can’t take water out, but right now we want to take water out,” he further told GINA.
Agriculture Minister Noel Holder stated that the flooding in Trafalgar and Union has been compounded by the non-working pumps which were vandalised some time ago.
It was pointed out that the damaged pumps, located at the Trafalgar pump station, have a combined capacity to drain “almost 3000 gallons of water per second”. Works to fix these pumps are expected to soon commence.
It was on Monday that over 200 angry residents from Number 30 Village, Trafalgar, Union and Bush Lot protested the flooding. Reports stated that the residents gathered in Number 30 Village and with the use of trailers, blocked a major access road, which caused a 45-minute traffic delay.
Guyana Times was also told on Monday that the Region Five Chairman and the MMA/ADA General Manager had to rush to the area and explain to the angry crowd what measures were being implemented to alleviate the flooding. All of this took place with heavy Police presence.
Later that day, Police were once again summoned as the situation flared up in Bush Lot, where the road was also blocked. Police ranks quickly removed the encumbrances. The flooding in Region Five has been ongoing for over a month.
