Latest update March 12th, 2026 9:56 PM
Black Bush Polder widow seeks help to rebalance after flood disrupts livelihood
(Kaieteur News) – A woman who lives on her own in the Corentyne community of Black Bush Polder, is seeking help from public to recover from losses sustained due to flooding that covered significant portions of farmlands over the weekend.
Like many others in the community, Devika Lekaran, known to many as ‘Ratty’, depends mainly on farming activities for livelihood, and due to the heavy rainfall and the ensuing flood, many crops were destroyed.
The 58-year-old lifelong resident of Mibicuri North is a widow; her husband passed away some five years ago. Her two daughters who occasionally check in with her are with their individual families elsewhere in the country. Owing to that, Lekaran survives on what she harvests from planting pumpkin, eggplant and other vegetables, and the earnings from poultry farming. She rears ducks and chickens, and owns several heads of sheep.
Devika Lekaran, who suffered economic damages due to the weekend flood
Subsequent to the high-water levels three day ago, Lekaran told this publication that some of her ducks and chickens died, in addition to three lambs. Unable to position the animals on the street, the remaining sheep occupy the already limited high grounds at her home for safety. Her plants which were completely submerged perished. She however managed to save some pumpkins that are marketable.
She is a recipient of the government’s public assistance, for which she maintains gratitude. This, she noted however, is not entirely sufficient to accommodate her.
“I get $22,000 a month public assistance, (that) money nah do for me. I have to pay for my light, have to pay for my water, and what left, that is what I use….”
Lekaran stated that the conditions are tough, and the situation over the last couple of days only served to exacerbate things for her. She sells whatever she harvests, or items contributed to her by those familiar with her.
“If I get anything, then I can go sell. Couple dry coconuts, sometimes my sister daughter does give me lil green mangoes and so and I can go sell them. When my fowl them lay couple egg, I get them to sell. That’s what I try to make up myself with,” the woman related to this publication.
She is pleading for assistance to construct a fence to standardise her immediate space and keep her cattle within a safe zone.
“If I have a fence, better for me,” she expressed.
Wooden fixtures set up in her yard as her washroom facilities are the least ideal in instances of flooding, as was the case over the weekend. They were inundated with water. The widow is desperate for the comfort and convenience of an indoor facility for her one-story elevated home. Aside from the damages to crop and the economic blow occasioned by the high-water levels, caimans and snakes are brought closer to domestic spaces, and this too is a threat for Lekaran.
Many cash crop and rice farmers have been left frustrated by the situation, and were assured of governmental support when officials convened a meeting with them on Sunday.
Millions worth in crops were said to be destroyed by the flooding, and some pointed to ineffective drainage systems at Black Bush Polder.
Regional authorities and the relevant agencies, spearheaded by Region Six Chairman Junior Bassant and Regional Vice-Chairman Wajid Khan, have been in and out of the community, working with farmers and residents since Sunday to provide relief.
Already, the flooding situation has been mitigated, aided by the excavators and mechanical pumps strategically installed. Today, the chairman once again visited and inspected the pump stations to affirm their effectiveness.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture detailed that following relief measures coordinated by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), farming and living areas are no longer flooded.
The ministry also updated that an 80 cubic-feet-per-second drainage pump is being transported for installation at the Number 43 Village outfall to lend to the operation of the pumps already in place, as NDIA engineers continue to monitor the situation.
Persons desirous of making a contribution to Lekaran can contact Krishana Beerbusham on 661 9868.
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