Meadow Bank residents deluged

Nov 23, 2010 News

– appeals for intervention from authorities

Some five months after they got relief from the floodwaters that inundated their community, residents of the small fishing town of Alexander Village are once again deluged and are calling on the authorities to come to their assistance.
Persistent rains over the past weeks coupled with a malfunctioning drainage system have been identified as the source of the problem. Residents said that the koker situated at the northern end of the village seems to be malfunctioning once again.

This is the state of one of the streets in Alexander Village

The situation had its genesis five days ago after an especially heavy shower. Residents said that they noticed that hours after the rains had subsided that the water that had accumulated on the land remained.
This is a regular occurrence in the village which seems to be undergoing a serious drainage problem, the residents said. The last time the problem occurred the residents had contended that the disaster could have been averted.
Repeated calls to the relevant authorities to clear the canal to the north of the village were ignored. The villagers had then sought answers from the koker attendant but were informed that even if he raised the door the situation would not get better.
The koker attendant, Steve Vieira had explained then that there was nothing he could have done to appease the suffering of the residents.
Mr. Vieira had also said that the government had ordered the excavation of several drains in close proximity to the Meadow Bank canal but had not given the go ahead for similar works on the Meadow Bank drains. He had suggested that should such works be effected the situation would have been appeased.
Indeed after repeated calls, Minister of Local Government, Kellawan Lall visited the area with a team of workmen and rectified the problem. The residents are contending that the time has come for the canal to be desilted once again.
They are appealing to the relevant authorities to come to their rescue since their livelihood is being disrupted.