By Shemuel Fanfair
The weeks-long flood situation in many areas in Region Five (Demerara-Mahaica) appears to be volatile as over 200 angry residents took drastic measures yesterday to highlight their plight. Residents of Number 30 Village, Trafalgar and Union were first to vent their frustrations over the flood crisis.
According to reports, on Monday residents gathered at a section of Number 30 Village, and with the use of trailers, blocked a major access road, which caused a 45-minute traffic delay.
Residents and farmers are especially angry since their area has been once again flooded, mere days after the water had receded.
The Guyana Police Force had to be summoned to prevent the situation from further escalating. Regional Chairman Vickchand Ramphal and the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary/Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA) General Manager Aubrey Charles had to rush to the area and explain to the angry crowd what measures were being implemented to alleviate the flooding.
However, later in the day, Police were once again summoned as the situation flared, but this time in Bush Lot, where the road was also blocked. Police removed the encumbrance.
The Regional Administration had called on the MMA to clear those drains to bring relief to the area. Attempts on Monday to garner a comment from the MMA general manager proved futile.
Earlier on Monday, there were reports of major flooding in Lovely Lass, one of the areas where the flooding had decreased. One farmer said that his entire pasture was inundated, which is threatening his livestock.
Meanwhile, many persons in the flooded communities, especially farmers, are demanding that they receive compensation to help them to ‘get back’ on their feet.
It was only recently that in Union and Lovely Lass, most of the water had receded while it was pointed out that the Mahaicony riverine communities remained inundated. However, recent heavy rains have caused a return of flooding.
There have also been media reports of vandalism to some of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) water pumps.
It was on Saturday and Sunday that affected residents in Moraikobai in Region 5 received food hampers from the CDC. These hampers were given to 160 flood-affected families.
It had been pointed out that the installation of radio sets in the village is part of the CDC’s efforts to establish early warning systems. These radios will be used for warnings and forecasting as part of future monitoring of flood conditions.
The flood situation in Region 5 has been occurring at intervals for almost two months.
