Latest update March 20th, 2025 5:10 AM
Mar 17, 2011 News
The need for immediate measures to be implemented to address a flooding situation affecting residents in the Pouderoyen area was high on the agenda when the Best/Klien/Pouderoyen Neighbourhood Democratic Council met yesterday.
The venue was the NDC headquarters at Phoenix Park, West Bank Demerara.
The meeting kicked off with a dramatic hype half an hour after the stipulated starting time of noon yesterday, due to the late arrival of Mr Jagdesh Jadunandan, the Chairman, a state of affairs which evidently angered some councillors and residents alike who were waiting to ventilate their concerns.
However, the concerns of the residents took precedence when the forum swung into full session. Residents were able to put to the council the issues they thought needed to be remedied with much urgency.
In highlighting the flooding problem, which according to some residents, persists even if there is no rainfall, a number of reasons were presented. One was that it was being caused by an improper drainage system.
One resident, Ann Bowman, of Pouderoyen underscored that the water was cloudy (brown) suggesting that it was being caused deliberately by an individual who recently damaged a dam to facilitate agricultural works.
Residents of Middle Street, Depot Dam, Coglan Dam and Samaroo Dam are affected as a result of the excess water which according to residents, seems to have no place but “into yards and homes to run.” Residents claimed that their properties are constantly flooded.
It was however noted by the Chairman that similar complaints of such flooding situations have been surfacing in recent months. He revealed that the matter was ever since brought to the attention of the Regional Chairman who had promised to address the problem.
Regional Vice Chairman, Mam Persaud, said that the problem could perhaps also be linked to the lack of internal drains on individual properties in the affected areas. He promised that a Public Health Inspector will visit the areas to ensure the presence of suitable drains.
The need for consultation with the Regional Engineer was also emphasised by Councillor Vincent Bowman and the Vice Chairman, who pointed out that persons must take into consideration that the existing system was designed to accommodate cane fields rather than the residential areas which were subsequently added over the years.
Even with the addition of kokers, the Vice Chairman pointed out that waters are not drained fast enough since these mechanisms are intended to drain a mere two inches of water swiftly rather than the six inches that seems to be the result of current rainfalls.
“The kokers cannot take off water fast enough so there will be some flooding but we will be working with the Drainage and Irrigation Authority…” he asserted.
In the meantime though, the Chairman speculated that the use of a pump could help to temporarily address the situation, a move residents believe would be of no effect if the state of the drainage system is not address.
Another resident, Claudette Warner, stressed the need for more collaboration to address the flooding problem even as she pointed to some structures which have the potential of hindering the free flow of water when the excess water emerges.
Warner also highlighted the fact that some residents have been utilising the Coglan Dam Koker as a dumping ground for waste. Her concerns also extended to the state of the roads but she was pacified to some extent by the Vice Chairman’s disclosure of plans in the pipelines.
These plans will see Central Government accessing funds through the Caribbean Development Bank to rehabilitate some roads which is expected to include some within the Pouderoyen area. He anticipates that the project should commence by September.
Mar 20, 2025
2025 Commissioner of Police T20 Cup… Kaieteur Sports- Guyana Police Force team arrested the Presidential Guards as they handed them a 48-run defeat when action in the 2025 Commissioner of Police...Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- There was a time when an illegal immigrant in America could live in the shadows with some... more
Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the US and the OAS, Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- In the latest... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]