The Mayor and City Council has temporarily ceased operations at the Stabroek Market after excessive high tides resulted in flooding.
The Stabroek Market constantly floods from high tides
On Tuesday, the Council informed that they were currently looking at ways to address the situation after it was brought to their attention. This decision comes at a time when stallholders would see a large crowd of customers.
According to the Council, flooding would usually occur when there are expected high tides. To factor in a more holistic approach, ‘disruptions’ will take place. But the Council has decided to put the matter on the back burner until next year.
Guyana Times understands that a nearby sewer system would have significantly escalated the issue by infiltrating the market with a pungent odour.
“To treat with the issue holistically, there will be significant disruption of the market operations; selling will be ceased temporarily. The Council contemplated its action and considered the quest of the stallholders to yield sales, especially being the Christmas season. Nevertheless, the Council remains committed to dealing with the issue in early January 2020,” the Georgetown Council disclosed.
In October, the Market was also closed for a few days owing to high tides which caused widespread flooding. During that time, all the items stored on the ground were damaged, especially perishable and consumable items.
This situation comes just days after vendors had complained about leaking roofs and poor drainage. Vendors of both the Stabroek Market and Bazaar have expressed discomfort while plying their daily trade after leaking roofs resulted in damaged goods.
“I come in last Wednesday or Thursday and when I look down, the ground wet wet. That’s when I tell my son that the roof leaking bad and look at how much [things] get wet… All the soap and things that went open wet and I had to throw them away,” the woman told this publication after the incident.
While the areas have been known for its dilapidated state, only droplets would fall from the roof and fixed with the placement of a bucket. However, it has become a bigger issue now and other stalls have also complained about losses. More importantly, this occurrence poses as a discomfort.
In both cases, complaints were filed at the Mayor’s Office for better drainage but there has been no response to date. It was revealed that if these issues are fixed, the probability of future flooding would be unlikely and damages lessened.
