No more floods!
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, March 20, 2019
The city of Georgetown relies heavily on its seawalls for protection from the large waves of the Atlantic Ocean. However, these waves when high enough tend to top the seawall, this, as well as heavy prolonged rainfall, would lead to the flooding of the city.
It is times like these that residents of the city would rely on the sluice gates to properly drain the city that it may return to some level of normalcy. Georgetown’s drains were however designed to drain at a rate of one and a half inches in 24 hours.
Since ascending to government in 2015, an inter-agency task force was put together and charged with addressing drainage in Georgetown. They have since managed to clean and maintain several critical central and cross canals and drains, allowing for the easy flow of water during rainfall, substantially reducing the instances of flooding within the city.
It is this Task Force’s goal, to increase the rate of drainage from one and a half to three and a half inches in 24 hours. This along with several promises were made during a Ministerial Outreach conducted by Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder and Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson.
The duo was also joined by His Worship the Mayor of Georgetown, Ubraj Narine in the community of Kingston.
“Since 2015, we haven’t been seeing any flood or major flooding, in the community. From the time that we took government; I think it was just a few weeks after; Georgetown was inundated with water. But the Ministry of Public Infrastructure along with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Communities and some other ministries formed a task force to address the flooding issue in Georgetown,” Minister Ferguson noted.
Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder revealed that it is the goal of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), which is currently responsible for all major drainage canals within the city, to ensure that these waterways are as clean and free from encumbrances, as is the Irving and Thomas Land Canals lining the Guyana Defense Force’s Camp Ayangana.
Mayor Narine voiced his support for this initiative, indicating that the Council is willing to do the work to clean the alleyways to ensure this goal is achieved. He, however, cited the need for finances for his council to be able to function effectively, calling out those who fail to pay taxes but expect a free ride on those who do. He, nevertheless, indicated that despite the lack of finance, he was keen on getting the works done.
“All the work you see happening right now, is voluntary work, I’m going around and I ask to arrange a meeting… persons will meet with me, will arrange and see how we can do some self-help work, I’m willing to work, I’m willing to go into the drains with you,” Mayor Narine stated.
Residents across Georgetown were given an opportunity to meet with and interact with various ministers during a massive Ministerial Outreach spanning the various constituencies of Georgetown; giving them a chance to voice any issues they may have and to have any questions they wish to pose answered by their elected officials.
Nikosi Bruce.
Images: Department of Public Information.