Major works in the pipeline for flood-prone MMA areas – NDIA

Mar 08, 2012 News

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Many projects are in the pipeline to improve the drainage and irrigation situation in the flood-prone Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary (MMA) areas.
However, the completion of these projects, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the National Drainage Irrigation Authority/ Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary Development Authority (NDIA/MMADA), will be dependent on the availability of resources.
With major emphasis on the notion that the NDIA remains committed to improving drainage and irrigation services countrywide, the statement issued by the body, sought to refute claims that much is not being done to assist farmers in the MMA areas.
The statement comes on the heels of an article published in last Sunday’s edition of this newspaper which highlighted the views of farmers of the Pine Ground Creek, Mahaicony area.

According to the farmers, not only is limited support directed to them before and after flooding situations, which have resulted in their loss of millions of dollars in crops, but they also claimed that compensation from the Ministry of Agriculture is less than acceptable. They lamented, too, that the Minister had not visited them to gain an appreciation of their plight.
However, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, in an invited comment Tuesday said that “the assertion that I have not been there is absolutely untrue.”
It was revealed that although Minister Ramsammy and the Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Baksh, have been in office for only three months they have together visited the MMA area at least 15 times.
“Minister Baksh visited the Pine Ground area at least once during the recent floods and Minister Ramsammy visited the affected areas at least eight times during the recent floods. Minister Ramsammy was present at Pine Ground at least three times during the recent flood. Indeed, Minister Ramsammy was personally in many areas working along with the technical officers as various interventions were being made,” a statement from the Ministry said.
It was revealed too that the Ministers had to visit other areas, like Canal Polders Number One and Number Two, Black Bush Polder, Parika, Pomeroon River, among other areas.
“It is, therefore, unfair to state that the Ministers were not visiting,” the statement added.
In preparation for the rainy season, the NDIA said that MMA/ADA undertook lifting of the façade dam from Pine Ground to First Savannah where there were low spots. In addition, the MMA had installed four high-density polyethylene (HDPE) tubes at two locations in Pine Ground to improve drainage along with the construction of a bridge.
The MMA/ADA said that it has also commenced construction of the new section of the Bellamy canal, and at the same time is constructing a sea dam from the excavated material. This, it was revealed, would alleviate flooding of lands between the old Bellamy canal and the foreshore.
Further it was pointed out that two of the four farmers named in the article, Narinedatt and Harinarine Mangal, had already received 16 hours work each using NDIA’s excavator to improve drainage in their farmlands. The NDIA said that during the recent rainy season it had deployed an excavator which was stationed at Narinedat’s farm.
However, it was agreed by Narinedat  that since water was not eroding the banks of his farm, the excavator should be used for farmlands of farmers where water was eroding their dams. In fact, four excavators were deployed to assist farmers on the right bank of the Mahaicony River, the statement said.
In addition, the other two farmers named in the article (Hardat Mangal and Nowcharine Parbhoo) were assisted by the MMA/ADA with empoldering works during the rainy season. They were also assisted with fuel for pumping, the statement said. This, according to the NDIA, was done in mid-February where five excavators were deployed by the NDIA to assist farmers on the right bank of Mahaicony Creek.
“Without naming anyone, we want to appeal to those farmers with their own excavators, to allow those without excavators to benefit from the programme. Those with excavators could help by completing works on their own properties, freeing our equipment to help those who are in real need.”
Additionally, revelations reaching this newspaper outlined that major infrastructural works are being undertaken by the NDIA/MMADA to improve drainage and irrigation in the MMA areas.
“We have been managing the water level in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) and we were releasing water into the Demerara River through the Kofi, Cunha and Land of Canaan sluices since November,” the statement also disclosed.
It was also revealed that the NDIA has kept the water level in the EDWC as low as possible in order to ensure “we had enough water to meet our needs in the case of a low rainfall season, while at the same time ensuring there is enough reserve in the conservancy for storage in case of excess rainfall”.
According to the NDIA, there are records available to substantiate its claims.
However, it was revealed that in spite of active EDWC monitoring and management of water level, the Authority was faced with the situation of a rapid increase in the levels of the very Conservancy during the January/February heavy rainfall. This as a result prompted, as a last resort, the opening of the Maduni sluice.
The NDIA stated that this was one of the few times in decades that the Maduni was opened and the Lama Canal was not, demonstrating that the management of the EDWC level worked to minimise the release into the Mahaica and Maduni Creeks.

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