Doing the right thing!

Citizens of Georgetown do their part to alleviate flooding

DPI, Guyana, Monday, July 22, 2019

Residents of Georgetown have heeded to calls from National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) CEO Fredrick Flatts for them to do their part in helping to alleviate the drainage woes in the city.

Flatts, in a Department of Public Information (DPI) exclusive, had indicated that while the agency has been mandated to tackle the primary canals and drains around the Garden City, that alone would not be enough to combat flooding.

“From the NDIA perspective, we would like citizens to do their part, first they should observe that a lot of work is ongoing. The most important thing they can do is to desist from disposing their solid waste into the channels.”

Residents of the ‘Tiger Bay’ area have answered the call and taken it a step further. George Anthony took a break from clearing the drains with his team long enough to speak with the DPI and explain how they have been working to help with the drainage in the community. “We came ourselves and cleaned it out; we put it [garbage] in the rubbish bin, and the truck that comes in the morning will throw it away.”

Anthony and a few other persons from the area were seen taking their time clearing the blockages which were mostly bottles and plastic bags. He explained that they try to do what little they can to help clean the drains so the water can recede, but two main concerns hindering this process. One of these concerns, Anthony claims, is a heap of sand alongside a building on Queen Street. The sand is directly over a drain, and completely stops all of the water that is supposed to be draining off of Main Street. He believes that this is the reason that furniture store ‘Courts’ continues to flood when it rains.

This is one of the areas that the NDIA, CEO had identified as a problem area for localised flooding. “We all know that Main Street by Courts would normally flood, even though the level of the water in the Church Street drain may not be high and that’s a question of internal drainage. I think in Quamina Street between Main and Carmichael, you’ll normally have some flooding there, again that’s a question of internal drainage because that is localised flooding.”

The work that Anthony and his friends are doing is vital to ensuring that the larger works being done by the NDIA will have a crucial impact on drainage within the city. The NDIA has been working along with the M&CC to help in cleaning and maintaining the primary drains and canals throughout the city.

Due to the extensive work done by the NDIA on the major canals in Georgetown, the rate of drainage from these canals has already seen a marked increase.

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