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Flooding wreaks havoc on livestock, residents in Number Two and Palmyra Canje
Residents of Number Two and Palmyra Villages, East Canje, bemoaned the inefficient services of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the Number 38 Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), yesterday, after many of them suffered heavy loss of livestock.
The residents invited the media to the scene at the same time Regional Chairman Zulfikar Mustapha and his team arrived and conducted a ‘walk- about’ around the areas affected.
Chandrowtie Singh in her flooded yard
The walk about seemed not enough to appease the angry residents who said that the area is usually flooded after very small amounts of rainfall.
It was only yesterday morning that a group of Drainage and Irrigation (D&I) Workers arrived in the areas to clean the main drainage canals. This main drainage canal runs along Lord Street and drains the Number Two and Palmyra areas. It was full of grass and weed.
The residents said that the area is always prone to flooding and that the regional and village officials are doing substandard cleaning of the canal and trenches.
One woman, Janita Samaroo, who only arrived in the country a few days ago, said that her entire yard is flooded and that she has had to move all her appliances from her kitchen to upstairs.
“I’m tired with this thing. This is our country. In other countries, you don’t have to worry about flooding.”
Another resident, a livestock farmer, said that he lost several lambs and sheep to the flooding.
Chandrowtie Singh, a housewife who has a little livestock farm in her backyard, was furious. “Them a over do thing! He [Regional Chairman] a walk like he stupid!” she said.
She lost over 100 eggs, two turkeys, and over 100 ducks. “This happening since 2004. We made complaints to the Regional Chairman and Overseer over and over,” she said. Singh said that the officials would always come after floods and record cases of estimated losses but would never be seen or heard from again.
“They don’t have good drainage”.
Berbice recorded several inches of rainfall over the past 48 hours.The main drainage structures across the region are only capable of handling rainfall of up to two inches.
The Fort Ordnance Primary School had to cancel school for the day since the entire school yard is under water.
Meanwhile, Mustapha has promised to send in a pump to the area to alleviate the flooding.
NDC officials said that all over Guyana has been affected by the flooding and that it was an act of Mother Nature.
They also said that they are doing their best but the monies allocated by the region to do works is not enough. They added that the residents of the area are not paying enough taxes.
A verbal confrontation later ensued between the NDC Overseer and residents of Number Two Village. “All a them man who a run the NDC are a pack of dunce!” one villager shouted.
One resident then hurled expletives at the NDC officials who were forced to leave the area on a tractor. (Leon Suseran)
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