Victory Valley residents voice concerns over erosion
Residents of the Region 10 community of Victory Valley in Wismar, Linden (Upper Demerara-Berbice) have voiced their concerns about the ongoing threat of severe erosion which is evident in the community.
The residents registered their concerns during a consultation with Minister within the Natural Resources Ministry, Simona Broomes, on Sunday. As the consultation got underway, other issues which were brought to the fore included difficulties receiving land titles, deteriorating roads and garbage issues, and the lack of job opportunities, among others.
Minister Broomes also met with some small miners, who also voiced their concerns over job opportunities.
A section of the gathering at the meeting in Linden
Additionally, the minister conducted a tour of the Victory Valley community, where she got a firsthand look at the situation with regard to erosion and numerous dilapidated bridges in the area.
She was accompanied by outgoing Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland; Region 10 People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) Party Chairman Derron Adams, and several Municipal and Regional Councillors.
Speaking with this publication shortly after the tour, Mayor Holland spoke about several issues which were highlighted. “In the area of erosion, we’re trying to see what best could be done, because the drainage in the area is breaking up with the steady erosion, and several homes are under threat.
“Also, the Valley is the place where they’ve had several issues with garbage, since the area was not really served (by the Linden Mayor and Town Council). And so moves were made to clean up those huge garbage heaps that were there for many years. The Council had done some cleaning on some of the garbage areas last year, and now the massive ones that were not touched in many years, they were cleaned through a collaboration with the RDC (Regional Democratic Council), M&TC, and so on…,” he pointed out.
Holland had previously called for a $3 billion revetment programme to deal with the issue of massive erosion, which is occurring in several communities across Linden.
“The Valley is just one area that is under serious threat of erosion. There are many other areas that have this problem. The issue was raised with Government this week again, and we’re hopeful that Government will consent to at least doing the revetment work in several areas; and I think the Valley can be one that they can start with”, the mayor said.
