Hundreds of residents of the Grove community on the East Bank of Demerara have been severely affected by flooding after a koker located at Grove Market Street was breached at about 17:30h on Wednesday.
An officer from the CDC leading a senior citizen through the flood waters (CDC photo)
Guyana Times was informed that the breakage occurred during the spring tide. This has led to the water level rising in the community to about eight inches.
Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told this publication that they received telephone calls from residents of the community about the koker being breached, and how it was causing flooding in the area.
“Sluice or kokers fall under the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, Ministry of Agriculture. So, the Ministry of Public Work’s response was in direct support of the agency. We came out, we assess what was taking place… we saw what was required, we ensured that the machines and materials for immediate interventions were adequately mobilised….”, he stated.
A section of the flooded community
Minster Edghill said that the tide is expected to “turn around” at 11:00h on Wednesday, and at 01:00h on Thursday, when the tide is low, the machines and tiles will arrive at the area to have the breach fixed.
Given that a lot of persons were affected by the flooding, the Minister said a temporary shelter, which is the Diamond Secondary School, was been identified for those citizens who were affected.
“…they may need a temporary shelter for tonight until the water recedes, so those arrangements have already been put in place. We have responded both in terms of the emergency works to stop the breach, and secondly, to bring relief to the residents who affected by the flood”, he said.
Chairman of the NDC, Indranie Ramnarine said there are approximately 1100 households that are under water. She explained that those residents would have suffered serious damages to their appliances, furniture, and livestock.
One resident, Ramchand Chinnilal, said after the koker broke away, almost everything he had in his very “small house”, went floating. He said he has four children, and one, who is just nine days old, is currently hospitalised.
Chinnilal explained that he recently moved to the squatting area in Grove, after someone burned his previous house down. He said his family is barely trying to survive with the little they have, since he has been unemployed for some time due to the pandemic.
The man said it broke his heart after he returned home from visiting his son, who is hospitalised, to see all of the little groceries he had left floating in the water.
“My son in the hospital, he got cut. When I come home I see all meh lil ration floating on the ground. Right now, this is pressure for me. Me deh in punishment … I asking them to see what they can do for me”, he said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips, who has the responsibility for the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), was also on the ground, and said that as of Thursday, residents of the area who were affected by the flooding, will receive sanitation supplies, and hampers.
“We are saddened about what has happened here tonight, and we will take all efforts to correct the breach of the koker and to also bring some relief to the people… personally I am from Diamond…so these are people I can identify with what they are going through here…”, he underscored.
The area was also on Wednesday evening visited by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, Deodat Indar, Director General of CDC Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig, and Local Government Minister Nigel Dharamlall. (LaWanda McAlister)
