Meeting held to address Cookrite Savannah flooding
DPI, GUYANA, Thursday, July 06, 2017
Plans are moving apace to address the flooding in the Cookrite Savannah. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo today convened a high level inter-agency meeting involving Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder, Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jaipaul Sharma, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and other agencies.
Some cattle seen on an area of dry land.
The Cookrite Savannah has been flooded for the past few days due to heavy rain fall and the overflowing Canjie River. The savannah does not have a drainage network, as opposed to the Black Bush Polder area. Cattle rearing is one of the main economic activities in the area.
The Prime Minister met with cattle farmers of Black Bush Polder yesterday in New Amsterdam, Berbice, Region Six. Some farmers claimed that over a thousand heads of cattle have died due to the flooding and that the carcass are lying in the savannah.
However, an extensive flyover of the area on Wednesday by the Civil Defense Commission (CDC) and the Guyana Defense Force (GDF) proved otherwise. Video footage shows the vast majority of the cattle are alive and are surviving in the flooded areas. Only a handful of dead animals were observed during the flyover.
Regional and other officials will also visit the flooded area tomorrow to assess the situation first hand. Minister Holder will present a full report at the post Cabinet meeting tomorrow on all aspects of the relief effort.
A section of the flooded cattle rearing area in Black Bush Polder.