Drainage works commence at Lowland to alleviate flooding

Jan 28, 2021 News

Agri. Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha.

Kaieteur News – Swift action by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), has resulted in works commencing on a number of drains and canals at Lowland on the East Coast of Demerara. The works have been engaged in order to alleviate flooding in the area.
A release, issued this week by the Ministry of Agriculture revealed that it was after a meeting with residents in the village last week Wednesday, subject Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, immediately instructed officials from the NDIA to have a machine sent to the area to commence the works.
An excavator was deployed to the area Saturday last and works are currently ongoing. Once completed, hundreds of villagers stand to benefit from the approximately 2,770 rods of drainage channels that will be cleared. The ongoing works are being executed at an estimated cost of over G$2.2M and should be completed within the next three weeks.
Residents of Lowland expressed their satisfaction with the swift action taken to bring some level of relief to them.

Photo shows a section of the drain that needs clearing and a section that has been cleared so far.

A section of one of the drains in Lowland that has been cleared.

NDIA engineers examining the works done so far.

Eighty-eight-year-old Lorence Chester, for instance, said that she is pleased with works that have commenced. She said, “I paid nearly $1M to build up here. This was a trench. The other day when rain fall, look the things pack up in my house. Three feet water, if you go behind my fence you will see the mark. All behind that tank water coming up till there. I praise God. When I look out and see the machine working, I felt so happy.”
According to Ms. Chester, “The Minister was here and I heard somebody from the area was speaking about the condition of the drains. I told my neighbour that we will get help because the Minister promised to do something. When I saw the machine I called my neighbour again and said look, you see, we’re getting the help.”

Appreciative residents: Ms. Lorence Chester and Mr. Chumandat Persaud

Chumandat Persaud, a mason, who has been residing in the area for 12 years, said that the water in the drains is already receding. “Me and my wife went to the meeting with the Minister last week when he promised that the machine would come and start the work this week, but it came since Saturday. He promised and he fulfilled his promise. The whole place does get flooding because the place nah get drainage but now that the machine here working, we will get the drainage. With the work they do already you can see the water going down already,” said Mr. Persaud.During the meeting, residents raised a number of concerns with the Minister and his team, which included the need for works to be done on a number of drains and canals; rehabilitation works to the main roads and land allocations, as many persons are currently squatting. The subject Minister immediately committed to having a machine deployed to the area to commence works as part of a complete upgrade to the community’s drainage system.
The machine is expected to remain in the area until all the works have been completed. The NDIA was also tasked with compiling a report detailing the extent of the works to be done in the area on a regular basis.
According to the Agriculture Minister, government is looking at developing a plan to upgrade the country’s entire drainage system.
He noted that with climate change, rising sea levels and somewhat unpredictable weather patterns, government has started the groundwork to ensure a comprehensive drainage and irrigation system is developed and introduced within the next five years.
“Guyana is below sea level, so it is government’s responsibility to put systems in place to safeguard the citizens of this country from the effects of flooding. This is why we have commenced working on a comprehensive plan to improve the country’s drainage system. I cannot disclose too much now (but) what I can say is that we will be installing more drainage pumps in these vulnerable areas, as well as scheduling maintenance works on these canals and drains. We know for a fact that, prior to this government taking office, things were done in a reactive manner. Only when there was flooding or during the rainy season then you would see works being done. As Minister of Agriculture, I will ensure agencies such as the NDIA are proactive. They will be guided by a clear work programme developed, using both technical knowledge and stakeholder consultation. This is to ensure the needs of the persons set to benefit are considered,” the Minister said.
He also said that Budget 2021 would set the foundation for the government’s developmental agenda, which will see a complete transformation to Guyana’s economy through investments in the country’s productive sectors.

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