SAVING GEORGETOWN!
June 2, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom, Source
People are making a big fuss about the flooding in the city. What did they expect? All manner of excuses are being made. It was said that pumps were not working. These pumps are always not working. They always have to be fixed. This is nothing new.
There were also complaints about the sluices not being opened on time. This happens from time to time with tragic consequences.
We have also heard about the neglect of the drainage system. It was described as criminal. Well this neglect has been ongoing for more than thirty-five years.
All of the excuses and reasons for the flooding are immaterial. All the complaints as to who is responsible do not matter. What matters are the statistics. If five inches of rain falls over a short period of five hours, there will be widespread flooding. All the pumps could have been working; all the drains could have been de-silted and clean; all the sluices opened on time; all the outfalls cleared, and still it would not have mattered.
If five inches of rainfall descends over a period of a mere five hours, there is nothing that can be done to prevent flooding , nothing. We are lucky that more rain did not fall. Then there would have been a catastrophic situation. When it rains in Guyana, it gets very slushy. It was not always that way.
But the drainage system has long been compromised. The main canals are not being dredged on a regular basis and when they are cleaned it is not to increase their depth but merely to remove weed.
The canals lack sufficient storage capacity because they are too shallow. Outflow to the river is slow because the main drainage canals are clogged with debris and the outfall channels to the river are silted up.
These things have long been known. They are not new. They require money, big money. A few people getting together to do community work is not the answer. What is needed are tens of billions of dollars, money that cannot be found to do the work that is needed. This is what it will take to fix the city’s drainage system.
Less rain may have fallen this past weekend that the downpours that triggered the floods of 2005. But in terms of the city, the flooding was more tragic that in 2005. This is what people must understand.
They must understand what it will take to put things right. And they must ask themselves whether it is worth the while to try to save Georgetown.
Why spend tens of billions of dollars to fix the drainage system in Georgetown when one year from now it will again be compromised. There needs to be continuous cleaning and removing silts from the canals and outfall. Does anyone appreciate the billions that it will take simply to clear the outfalls?
Look at the main burial ground in the city. Millions of dollars were spent to clear it of its jungle-like overgrowth. Millions more were spent to apply weedicides to stop the regrowth of bushes. But that has not stopped the rapid overgrowth.
The question that needs to be asked therefore, is Georgetown worth the price that will have to be paid to fix it. Billions are needed to fix drainage. Billions will be needed to resettle squatters living on the banks of the main drainage canals. Billions will be needed to implement proper zoning facilities. Billions will be needed to remove all the garbage. Billions will be needed to rebuild the markets. Billions will be needed to provide compensation for vendors. Billions will be needed to provide proper bus parks and car parks in the city.
Where is all this money going to come from? And even if it can be found, would it be worth the investment if standards cannot be maintained.
Is Georgetown worth all of that investment?