Emergency works to tackle Black Bush Polder flooding
Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha and a team of officials today visited several villages at Black Bush Polder, Region Six after receiving reports of cash crop farmers and residential areas being affected by flooding caused by inclement weather.
The team included officials from the National Agricultural Research and Extension institute (NAREI) and Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).
“As a result, I think that a number of areas have been affected, especially Johanna and Yakasari in this Polder and to an extent Mibicuri. Farmers have complained that they have lost many cash crops and as a result of that, I will be conducting a survey tomorrow,” Minister Mustapha said.
The survey will determine the extent of the losses and damage suffered.
Mechanisms will also be put in place to ensure a 24-hour operation with the pumps and sluices to ensure there is effective drainage in the area.
“We have taken on some people from the community to monitor the sluices and the pumps so that they can have maximum drainage. Also, I have instructed NDIA to get some emergency machinery to clean the areas that need good drainage,” the Minister added.
Several individuals from Johanna, Yakasari and Mibicuri Six will start supervising the pumps and sluices from tonight and will be given a stipend by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Minister Mustapha noted that there was no cleaning in the Polder over the last five years and the Ministry will be sending four pieces of machinery to do the work until it is completed.
“Black Bush Polder is an area normally suffers a lot whenever there is a heavy rainfall and also at the back water normally come into the front land area. So, Black Bush is like a basin draining all the highland around Black Bush Polder. The Engineer I have instructed is Mr. Lionel Wordsworth to look at the system that we have here to see how we can improve it because we cannot have persons suffering like this,” he said.