No intervention from health department to Black Bush Polder residents

As the flooding in Black Bush Polder reaches day five, there has been no intervention from the health department in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
This has led to residents expressing concern over health issues and the spread of disease, after floodwaters in Yakusari kept rising since Friday last. Residents who reached out to Guyana Times express worry over the spread of diseases since many pit latrines in the area are inundated. After five days of being under water, no one from the health department has gone to Yakusari, which is the village worst hit by the floods. In some sections of the residential areas, there is a stench emanating from the water. Speaking with this publication, Dharmindra Debesarran, a father of five, said he is very worried about the situation. The area is a farming community and the continuous water on the land is killing the crops. The school yard has remained under water for five days. Some farmers cannot do anything to assist themselves. Balwansingh Somar, another affected resident, rears chickens, which have been forced to live in the water – a situation which is leading to their demise.
“Twenty-five foul dead out fuh me because of the flood. My dog can’t come in me own yard. He ah sleep outside,” he related. Adding to the burden is the fact that the pump at Number 43 Village is also out of operation. Since the water began to rise on Friday last, residents have pointed an accusing finger at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) which has responsibility for the three main canals which drain the four polders. Some of the sluice doors are silted while outfall channels at Adventure, Eversham and Number 43 Village are all blocked with silt.
After the two Polders of Johanna and Yakusari were inundated on Friday, efforts were made to clear the Yakusari main drainage canal of vegetation.
A resident pointed out that he used to pay over $15,600 as land taxes to the Black Bush Polder Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) for the small plot of land where he lives but nothing has been done to improve the drainage in the community. He added that now the tax has increased to $48,600 but yet the community’s drainage is non-functional.
Some farmers related that their entire crop has been lost as a result of the flood. “One overnight rain fall and it duck out everything,” a farmer told this publication. Officials from the regional administration have since visited the community on several occasions, monitoring the cleaning of the vegetation in the canal but the floodwaters are still high. A resident told Guyana Times that the hymac deployed to the area has to be repaired more often than it actually works.