Jun 23, 2016 Source
Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan headed a high-power Government team from Georgetown on a visit to the flood stricken residents of Number Thirty District, West Coast Berbice.
Minister Khemraj Ramjattan with residents meeting yesterday on the flood situation.
Other senior government officials in the team included Minister Winston Felix, Minister Karen Cummings and Mr. Neilson McKenzie, advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure.There were also senior officials from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), and the Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA).The team visited the troubled MMA installation at Trafalgar where the members had a look at the non-functioning drainage pumps and the double door sluice which has been made unserviceable by the heavy siltation of the outfall.
There, members of the team discussed possible solutions to the problem, both short and long term, as well as immediate action to bring quick relief to residents. At the time of the visit only the smaller of the two pumps that were put into operation to ease the flooding was in operation. The workers reported that the other pump developed problems early Wednesday morning and had to be shutdown.
Meanwhile there has been evidence that the water has been receding. There has been very little rainfall since Monday, and many tractor-driven pumps have since been deployed pumping water from the residential area into the primary drains.
A pump that has been activated in West Berbice.
Machines have also been deployed to clear drains of weeds which have been restricting the flow of the water mainly in the residential area.
After leaving the Trafalgar installation the team met with residents at Golden Grove, and at Number Thirty Village. The residents were able to ventilate their views.The government assured them that the coalition is concerned about their well being, and that there are immediate as well as long term plans in place to deal with the situation affecting them.Residents were told that at the time of the first of two meetings, a pontoon with a dredge onboard was in the vicinity of Mahaica, making its way to Trafalgar, to dredge the outfall so that the sluice could be used to empty the flood water into the Atlantic.
Dredging should begin early Thursday, but there could not be a definite word on how soon the sluice could be put into operation.
During interaction at the Fort Wellington Boardroom with Engineers from NDIA, MMA, and the RDC; as well as RDC councilors, Vice President Ramjattan informed the gathering that there will be recommendations for the two pumps installed at Trafalgar to be repaired in preparation for the rainy season next December. It was reported that the pumps were last used over two years ago.
Vice President Ramjattan also told the gathering that there would be recommendation for budgetary allocation for the rehabilitation of the drainage and irrigation network of the MMA.
The Vice President while acknowledging that there has been vandalism to structures within the drainage and irrigation system, said that part of the present problem has been due to neglect on the part of the MMA
Plans are in train to provide compensation for residents who have lost crops or animals due to the flood.
Minister of Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, assured that there is an adequate supply of drugs in the Region to deal with waterborne diseases.Health officials, during the course of the afternoon, distributed bleach and treated mosquito nets to residents, together with materials on how to prevent diarrhoeal diseases among other health tips.
